Tell me So
by TinaMarie6624
Summary: Modern P & P Will Darcy is new to Meryton HS and when he meets her he regrettably insults the one girl that he felt a connection with, Elizabeth Bennet. Can Will turn their love/hate relationship into the love of a lifetime? His heart depends on it.
1. Chapter 1

If you love me, tell me so  
If you need me, let me know  
If our love has passed the test  
It's time to enjoy the rest.

Original Lyrics to _Tell me So  
_Copyright by Tina Marie Noel

Will Darcy always hated the first day at a new school but hopefully this would be the last time he would have to change school's before he graduated in June. The only good thing about this school was that he knew a few people here in Meryton, his cousin Richard Fitzwilliam, his best friend, Charlie Bingley, Charlie's sisters, Caroline and Louisa and of course Georgie would be a freshman this year. After what happened last summer, he had to make sure to keep an eye out for his younger sister.

Will and Georgie's parents had died the year before and they had been shipped off to live with their mother's sister Catherine but she had gotten tired of raising two teenagers who were used to having loving parents in their life. Aunt Catherine lived to please herself and at the start of the school year had sent the Darcy's to live with the Fitzwilliam's in Meryton.

Will hated being the center of attention but that's what happened when you were new in school. He liked in blend in, he didn't interact well with people he had never met and worst of all he hated crowds.

Will sighed and rolled his eyes when he saw Charlie coming toward him. _He's probably got a new love that's he going to tell me all about_. Charlie fell in and out of love every week and at the start of the relationship he was always sure that she was the one.

Charlie caught up with him and was enthusiastic about his new love. "I finally got the nerve to ask out Jane Bennet," He gushed, "She is so beautiful and popular that I was afraid to ask her out." His smile was huge, "She's going out with me on Friday night at 7:00; isn't that great."

Will tried to be supportive, "That's great." He looked around wistfully as he hoped that the bell would ring to start the first class so that he would have an excuse to leave Bingley.

When Will tuned back into Charlie's recitation he was saying, "I even got you a date with Jane's sister Elizabeth, we'll be double-dating on Friday." He slapped Will on the back, "Elizabeth is smart, talented and witty you'll love her."

Will was furious about Charlie's audacity at setting up a date for him and he raised his voice with irritation, "Geez Charlie, you always get the pretty girl and I always get stuck with her homely friend or _sister_ so thanks but no thanks." Will's words were pointed and his eyes were dark as his angry voice reverberated off the walls around them, "I have no intention or desire to go out with Jane's sister, Elizabeth."

When Will glanced away from Charlie, he saw a beautiful girl with long dark curly hair and the most intelligent lively brown eyes. She was walking toward them with an attractive blond girl who stopped to talk to Charlie. The girl with the brown eyes gave Will a withering glare that made him take an involuntary step back. Will couldn't take his eyes off her for a moment and followed her retreating figure with his eyes.

"Will, this is Jane Bennet." He whispered in Will's ear as he followed his gaze, "That was her sister Elizabeth."

"I can't believe you said that about Elizabeth," Jane said with her blue eyes blazing, "Charlie told me you were a nice guy but that was a terrible thing to say about my sister."

Will snapped his head back returning his full attention to Charlie and Jane, "What did I say about your sister?"

Charlie shook his head, "I'm sorry dude, but you kind of called her homely."

"I… I… I didn't call her… oh my god." Will stammered as he realized what he had said and what Elizabeth Bennet must have overheard and he tried to explain himself to Jane, "I was talking generally; I hadn't even met your sister."

Jane just shook her head in disgust, kissed Charlie on the cheek and said, "I'll see you in class."

Will looked down at his class schedule and asked, "How do I get to my calculus class?"

Charlie was watching Jane walk away and pointed down the corridor that Will had seen Elizabeth disappear down.

As Will walked down the hall he heard music and walked toward the sound of the beautiful voice that seemed to mesmerize him. The door to the music room was open and he glanced in to see Elizabeth Bennet playing the piano and singing.

Will let the voice wash over him and he was overwhelmed by the purity of the sound. The beautiful voice made his heart melt as he embraced the sound. He was sorry when the song came to an end and he waited to see if she would start singing again.

"Elizabeth," Will saw the music teacher walk over to her, "Your voice is wonderful as usual but your playing is still not strong enough to match your voice."

"I know Mr. Atherton but I worked as hard as could over the summer and I still haven't improved enough so what am I going to do."

"We have a new transfer student." Mr. Atherton answered, "She's still a freshman but she is a terrific piano player, her name is Georgiana Darcy and I will be teaming you two up for your special project."

"Well if you think that my playing is that bad." Elizabeth teased, "I guess I don't have any other choice." She laughed and Will decided he liked the sound of laughter.

As he moved away from the classroom, Will smiled at the realization that since Georgie would be working with Elizabeth that he would have an opportunity to change Elizabeth's opinion of him.

He practically ran over Caroline Bingley as he turned, "Will, I'm glad I ran into you." Caroline said and Will rolled his eyes because she wasn't even making a joke.

Caroline turned toward the music room as the music started again and said, "What is that horrible noise? Oh I should have known that's Eliza Bennet." She said, "She can't play, she doesn't have a good voice and she's not even pretty. I don't know why the boys around here like her so much."

Caroline was Charlie's sister and so Will tried not to show how angry he was because of her statement, "I've got to go to class, Caroline. I don't want to be late on my first day of school."

Caroline stared opened mouthed as Will walked away from her without a backward glance.

Will Darcy sought to find out as much as he could about Elizabeth Bennet during the day and when he caught sight of her in the corridors, he tried to study her inconspicuously.

As luck would have it Charlie was having lunch at a table with Jane and Elizabeth. Will took a seat on the other side of Bingley hoping to get a chance to converse with Elizabeth but she grabbed her lunch as she looked at him with disgust and left the table before he could apologize or say a word to her.

Jane looked at Darcy with loathing and left the table as well followed quickly by Charlie Jane with a shake of his head to his friend.

Will's shoulders sagged as he watched his friend walk away. How could he make this right if Elizabeth wouldn't even allow him to apologize to her?

"It must be my lucky day." Caroline Bingley said with a note of pleasure in her voice, "To find you all alone for lunch."

Will cringed as she addressed him, grabbed his tray and stood up, "Excuse me, Caroline but I have some homework that I need to do."

"But it's the first day of school." Caroline protested with a pout, "Nobody has homework yet."

The school day couldn't end fast enough for Will and he was glad when he got home. The Fitzwilliam's were off on one of their many adventures and so the three teenagers were left to their own devices. Will was happy about this because he knew that he could take care of himself and Georgie without any interference.

When he opened the door, he heard Georgie playing the piano and he felt a profound relief that the first day of school was over. As he went to greet his sister, he heard the voice that had so astounded him this morning. Elizabeth Bennet was here in this house and Will was determined to find an opportunity to speak with her privately.

He walked into the room where the two girls were practicing and Georgie abruptly stopped playing when she saw him and rushed to introduce Will to her new friend.

"Will, this is Elizabeth Bennet." She said politely as Elizabeth turned to face them, "Elizabeth, this is my brother, Will Darcy."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Will said as he strode forward to offer her his hand.

The iciness of Elizabeth's stare was enough to send a shiver of panic down Will's body. "Excuse me, Georgie." Elizabeth said, "Where is your restroom?"

"Let me show you." Will offered and made a motion for her to follow him.

Elizabeth was furious and it showed plainly in her eyes as she saw no polite way to refuse his offer of assistance.

As he walked her toward the bathroom, Will tried to focus his thoughts on how he could apologize for his rude behavior earlier today.

"Elizabeth, I want to talk to you about what happened this morning." Will said nervously as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"You don't owe me an explanation." Elizabeth shrugged but her voice had an angry edge as she opened the door that Will had indicated, "I understand, you just don't happen to find me attractive. I think that pretty much sums it up."

Her words said one thing but the tone of her voice gave away what she really felt and if Will had any doubt about her feelings toward him, he didn't after she slammed the door in his face.

"Damn." Will said under his breath as he paced the corridor waiting for Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth emerged she took one look at Will and said, "You didn't need to wait for me, I perfectly capable of finding my way back."

Will just stood there with astonishment written all over his face as Elizabeth stormed away from him and went back to join Georgie.

He went to stand outside the door where the girls couldn't see him. He watched as they began to practice the song once more. As he viewed the scene from the doorway, Will's thoughts turned toward the beautiful girl with the fantastic voice. He closed his eyes as he let his imagination take over. _How I long to run my fingers down the side of her face touching the softness of her cheek and what wouldn't I give just to bury my hands in her silky brown curls. If only I could feel the softness of her lips as we kiss with arms wrapped around each other._

"Will, what are you doing?" Will was irritated as the voice interrupted his thoughts and he turned to see his cousin.

"Rick." Will acknowledged before his let his eyes travel back to Elizabeth.

"Oh," Rick said with a grin, "You've got a thing for Elizabeth Bennet." He looked wistfully toward the girl, "She's never seen as anything more than a friend and I don't blame you because she is one of a kind."

"Yeah." Darcy mumbled as he kept his eyes on Elizabeth.

"Well then what are you doing standing out here?" Rick asked as he narrowed his eyes at his cousin, "Go in there and show the girl how you feel."

"She hates me." Will grumbled as he lowered his head.

"Well, you should at least offer to help them with the song." Rick said, "It's not likely that they would turn down help from you."

Will looked up and there was a light shining in his eyes, "You're right, I could share my expertise with them."

"That's the way." Rick said enthusiastically, "Go get the girl."

Will walked into the room and went over to the piano where Georgie and Elizabeth were sitting on the piano bench.

"I was just passing by and thought I could help." Will said and hoped the girls didn't hear the crack in his voice as he told his lie.

"Will, you're the best and of course, we'd love your help." Georgie said with admiration in her voice.

Will breathed deeply and offered his advice, "Elizabeth, although you bring a lot of emotion into the song, your voice is not strong enough for Georgie's playing." He rumpled his sister's hair affectionately, "If your voice were to match her playing I think that the song would soar to incredible heights." Will looked around for a place to sit, "Let me get a chair from the dining room and I'll be right back."

As he left the room, Elizabeth said to Georgie, "So your brother thinks my singing sucks." She said with a hollow laugh and then she lifted her shoulders, "But why do I care what Will Darcy thinks about my voice, it's not like he was my biggest fan before this?"

Georgie frowned as she looked at Elizabeth, wondering about the source of the hostility toward her brother. Georgie smiled as she answered Elizabeth's question, "Will was a child prodigy and he has been singing for years. In fact, he would get into Julliard if he were to apply." She saw the skeptical look on Elizabeth's face, "He stopped singing when our parents died."

"Why?" Elizabeth couldn't stop her curiosity.

"My mother taught him to sing and it was something of a bond between them." Georgie said as her eyes seemed to be searching for another place in time, "He hasn't sung a note since she died." Georgie rushed on to convince Elizabeth to let him help, "This is the first interest he's shown in music since then and we would be fortunate to have his help."

"Okay, he can help." Elizabeth said grudgingly as Will came back into the room.

He pulled the chair up behind Elizabeth and they began to work again. The next few hours were long for Elizabeth as she bristled under the exacting instruction of Will Darcy. The two of them argued about everything as they worked but she had to admit that the song sounded better when they were finished.

"That wasn't bad." Will said quietly as Elizabeth got up to go home, "But we have a lot more work to do and you'll need to practice a few more hours tonight." He looked toward his sister, "Georgie has homework to do and so I will play for you while you practice."

Elizabeth's eyes narrowed as she glared at Will, "I have homework to do tonight so I will have no opportunity to practice."

"Then you'll have to go in early to school and practice then as well as during your lunch hour." Will's voice was demanding.

"You've got to be kidding?" Elizabeth's eyes flashed with anger, "I'm not going to give up all of my free time for this project."

"How do you expect to improve unless you put in the time and practice?" Will's smug answer infuriated Elizabeth.

"You are the most arrogant person I have ever met." Elizabeth ranted, "You think that you know everything." Her face flushed with the anger that radiated from her body, "But you don't know anything about me."

Elizabeth grabbed her things and stalked toward the front door and opened it before she turned to glare at Will. She slammed the door behind her with a resounding thud that shook the wall.

As Elizabeth left, Will looked at Georgie, "What did I do?"

Georgie just laughed, "You were pushing her a little hard."

"No harder than I've ever pushed myself." Will said defensively.

"She's not you, Will." Georgie caught her brother's eye and wondered at the hurt she saw in the depths and something suddenly occurred to her, "You like Elizabeth, don't you?"

"Is it that obvious?" Will growled.

"Maybe only to me because I know you so well." Georgie's voice lowered as another realization struck her, "Will, Elizabeth doesn't like you and if what I heard at school is true, I don't blame her."

"That was all just a big misunderstanding." Will said sheepishly, "Besides, I've tried to explain but she won't listen to me."

"Oh Will," Georgie breathed, "I think you've put your foot in it this time."

"What am I going to do?" Will asked, "Elizabeth Bennet is the girl I could easily fall in love with."

"Well for a start," Georgie commented, "You could stop arguing with her so much."

"I don't know what you are talking about." Will said stubbornly.

"Don't think that you can fool me." Georgie countered, "You keep baiting her by saying things that you know will make her angry."

Will sighed, "Okay, you've got me there but I love see the spark of passion that lights up her eyes when she is defending her position on something." His smile reached his eyes, "She's so full of life and it's like she's bringing me back to life too."

"I know that's important because you've just been going through the motions since Mom and Dad died and my actions haven't helped matters any." Georgie looked up into his eyes, "But you have to trust me about this."

"I don't know if I can." Will admitted, "And since when did you become such an expert on these sorts of things."

"I am a girl, Will."

"That you are." He hugged his sister as he made a decision, "I'll try but I can't guarantee success."


	2. Chapter 2

Will couldn't wait to see Elizabeth the next day and he was waiting for her at the entrance to the music room but Elizabeth was less than thrilled to see Will waiting for her.

"Isn't there somewhere else you need to be?" Elizabeth asked sarcastically.

"Calculus" Will admitted with a grin and a lift of his eyebrows, "But I'd rather be here with you."

"Darcy, be serious," Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "I know you don't like me any more than I like you so what do you want?"

Will tried to mask the hurt he felt at her words and lied, "I wanted to make sure you were coming by today after school to practice with Georgie."

Elizabeth opened her eyes wide in disbelief and tapped her foot on the floor as she glared at him, "Yes and you didn't have to track me down to find that out, you could have just asked Georgie."

She moved passed him and opened the classroom door and disappeared as the door closed behind her.

Will ran to class and made it just before the bell rang. He couldn't remember anything about his morning classes and when it was time for lunch he found Charlie sitting with Jane and Elizabeth again. He sat down next to Elizabeth and at least this time she didn't leave the table but she didn't talk to him either.

Will tried to engage her in a conversation but she just ignored him. He finally gave up trying and left the table. As he walked aimlessly through the corridors, he ran into Rick.

"What going on?" Rick asked as he saw the devastation on Will's face.

Will explained the situation, "I just don't know how to make this better."

"Wait," Rick said, "Didn't you tell me that Bingley set up a date with Elizabeth for you to double date with him and Jane Friday night?"

"Yes." Will said listlessly, "But I turned down the date."

"Hmmm," Rick said thoughtfully, "I have an idea for you but you're probably not going to like it."

Darcy sighed and asked sharply, "What is it?"

Will Darcy pulled up in front of the Bennet's house on Friday night and sighed. He didn't know if Rick's plan was going to work but he had to give it a try if he wanted to spend time with Elizabeth. He waited until he saw Charlie pull up and joined him on the walk to the front door with a bouquet of red roses in his hand.

Charlie looked startled, "Will, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here for my date with Elizabeth, of course." Will said quickly, "You must remember, you set us up."

"But you turned down the date." Charlie protested as he rang the doorbell.

"You must be mistaken because I would have never turned down a date with the lovely and charming Miss Bennet." Will said as confidently as he could.

Mrs. Bennet answered the door and Charlie introduced himself and Will before he spotted Jane as she walked down the stairs. Charlie couldn't take his eyes off her because she looked so lovely. Mrs. Bennet moved out of the way for him to move toward her and greet her.

"I don't know what is keeping Elizabeth." Mrs. Bennet said loudly, "Let me get her for you."

"Thank you, Mrs. Bennet." Will breathed deeply and stopped the impulse to hold his breath until Elizabeth came down.

"Such charming young men." Mrs. Bennet said as she disappeared upstairs.

Jane hissed at Charlie as she pointed at Will, "What is he doing here?"

"He's come for his date with Elizabeth." Charlie told her, "She did agree to go out with him after all."

"That was before he said the things he did about her." Jane argued vociferously when she looked up and saw Lydia skipping down the stairs.

Lydia stopped when she saw Will Darcy, "Wow, you are good looking." She fluttered her eyelashes at him and said, "Mama says that Lizzie will down in just a moment."

Will breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you."

Lydia turned to Jane and whispered loudly, "Elizabeth refused to go at first but Mama insisted that she could not turn down such a charming and wealthy young man."

Will blanched at her words as Jane said, "Shush, Lydia not in front of the gentlemen."

As it was a warm evening, when Elizabeth came down she was dressed in a light weight summer dress with spaghetti straps. Will couldn't take his eyes off of Elizabeth as she stepped towards her sister and Charlie.

Will stepped forward and handed her the roses, "These are for you."

"Thank you." Elizabeth said softly before she excused herself to put them in water. When she returned, Will wanted to wrap his arms around her and kiss her on the cheek but he knew that she would not think kindly to such an intimate gesture.

"You look lovely." Will said as he took a step toward Elizabeth.

The two couples decided to take Will's car and Elizabeth reluctantly climbed into the passenger's seat as Jane and Charlie got in the back.

They had been driving five minutes before Elizabeth addressed him, "So why are you doing this, Darcy?" She fought to restrain a snarl, "I guess you thought it would be funny to take the poor homely girl on a date." She spat out angrily, "Or are you here to make sure that I'm drinking my lemon and honey tea."

"I'm here because I wanted to take you out." Will said as he glanced over at her.

"I'm not stupid, Darcy." Elizabeth was emphatic, "I know what you think about me."

"You obviously don't know anything about me." Will felt his anger begin to build.

"What's there to know?" Elizabeth demanded, "You're just a snob who thinks you're better than everyone else in town."

It took every ounce of willpower that he had not to snap back at Elizabeth. He steadied his breathing as he tried to calm himself.

Jane and Charlie were oblivious to any argument in the front seat as they were so caught up in each other that a bomb could have gone off and they wouldn't have noticed.

We're here." Will barked as they got to the restaurant.

Elizabeth jumped out of the car before Will could help her with the door and as he walked beside her he felt the tension in her body. _Why do I always seem to antagonize her? Georgie would be so disappointed that he couldn't keep his temper for even five minutes. Damn._

After they were seated at their table, Will leaned over to Elizabeth and said quietly, "I'm just trying to look after your welfare." He tried to catch her eyes but she wouldn't look at him and he took her hand in his, "I worry about you."

Elizabeth finally looked Will in the eyes and her eyes were twinkling, "I appreciate the thought." She conceded with a smile, "But I don't really need you telling me what to do."

Will laughed with relief at the lightening of her mood, "I'll try to keep that to a minimum."

While they were waiting for dinner, they managed to talk amiably about their favorite music and soon the topic turned to one of her favorite groups, The Beatles.

Will grinned as his need to glimpse her passionate nature took over and he knew what question to ask to get her to dance to his tune, "So who do you think was the best Beatle, John or Paul?"

"Paul McCartney." Elizabeth answered as her eyes narrowed when she saw Will's lips twitch in humor.

"So you think 'Silly Love Songs' was better than 'Imagine." Will's eyes sparkled as he saw her eyes flare.

Elizabeth shook her head, "That is the oldest argument on the books." Elizabeth said with openness, "I admire and respect John Lennon and mourn his death as the world lost a great talent and man."

"Is this the concession of your argument?" Will asked as his lips twitched at the corners.

"I haven't even made my argument yet so can you stop being such as jackass for one minute." Elizabeth's eyes blazed as she gave him a look that was designed to take mere mortals down. Will grinned as Elizabeth sighed, "What I was trying to say before I was so rudely interrupted was that I've always wondered why people underestimate such a wonderful song writer as Paul McCartney." She shook her head while she made her point, "I don't understand why people dismiss Paul because he wrote love songs, isn't that the one thing in this world that everyone is supposed to want to find more than anything." She looked him in the eyes and fired the rest of her ammunition at him, "Besides that have you forgotten about the multitude of music written by him such as 'Yesterday', Eleanor Rigby' or how about the animal rights anthem 'Looking for Changes', the wonderfully diverse 'Band on the Run', the beautiful, 'Maybe I'm Amazed' or the deceptively simple, 'I Will'." She sighed and finished her argument, "Paul McCartney wrote and sang some of the most beautifully surprising music and if you'd ever bothered to listen to any of his lyrics beside 'Silly Love Songs' then maybe you wouldn't so woefully ignorant."

Will let out a hearty laugh and said, "Okay, for the moment, I will surrender to your superior knowledge." He looked in her eyes, saw the passion burning deep within and smiled with pleasure.

When he looked back at Elizabeth, he saw that her face was full of anger and her shoulders were stiff. Will closed his eyes and knew he had made a mistake by engaging her in that kind of debate, even though he thoroughly enjoyed every moment of her fire and passion. After that he tried to get Elizabeth to talk to him throughout dinner but she would only answer in monosyllables.

After dinner Will drove them home and couldn't help but see Jane and Charlie in the backseat making out. Leaving the other two in the car, Will walked Elizabeth to her door. He desperately wanted to kiss her but since she didn't seem to be talking to him, he didn't think she would look kindly upon that intimacy. In an impulsive moment, he took her hand in his, "I'll see you on Monday." Will said as she pulled her hand away.

"Whatever." Elizabeth said as she opened the door and with barely a glance back she closed the door and Will stared at the door for a minute before he turned back toward the car and saw Charlie helping Jane from the car.

After saying goodnight to Charlie and Jane, Will got into his car and sat for a few minutes trying in figure out how to get Elizabeth to see him as something other than an antagonist. Tonight he had knowingly gone against Georgie's advice and he saw that it was the wrong thing to do again.

_Damn, how could I have been so stupid as to have started an argument with her? _Will laid his head against the steering wheel in disgust. _Everything I do with her seems to be wrong._

When he got home Georgie was waiting for him and asked excitedly, "How did it go?"

Will shut his eyes and swallowed loudly, "Not very well, I'm afraid I messed up again."

"Tell me what happened." Georgie said.

Will explained everything that happened on his date with Elizabeth to his chagrin.

"Will, you are such an idiot." Georgie looked at him with exasperation, "You didn't listen to me at all."

"I listened but," Will said as his neck colored slightly, "I just couldn't stop myself from baiting her."

"How are you going to fix this?" Georgie asked as she stared at her brother.

"I don't know." Will admitted, "I always say the wrong thing to her, I can't seem to help myself."

"Well, I guess there's only one thing to do." Georgie said with amusement, "It seems to be an impossible feat to get Elizabeth to stay in the same room with you for any period of time, let alone get her to see you as a friend or anything more than that."

Will glared at his sister and stalked out of the room as Richard entered, "What's wrong with him?"

"He has a bad case of foot-in-mouth disease." Georgie giggled.

Richard looked at her with a lift of his brows, "And you were just…"

"I was just giving him a push in the right direction." Georgie answered, "Will is like a dog with a bone and if I tell him how hopeless the situation is, he will do everything in his power to prove me wrong."

"When did you get so evil?" Richard asked.

"When Will turned his love life into a joke." Georgie shook her head, "I like Elizabeth and I think that she and Will would be great together if only he would stop being such an ass to her."

"Remind me never to get on your bad side." Richard laughed as he walked Georgie upstairs.


	3. Chapter 3

On Sunday night, Rick asked Georgie, "Why is Will still locked in his room? He's been in there all weekend."

"I know and every time I ask he just says 'research'." Georgie grinned, "I've given up asking but I think it has something to do with Elizabeth."

"She's all he ever thinks about anymore." Rick laughed, "I am glad that he's embracing life again but I'm afraid that she'll never give him another chance."

"You've forgotten how dedicated Will can be when he wants something." Georgie said with an arch of her eyebrow, "And I've never seen him want anything more than he wants Elizabeth."

First thing Monday morning, Will was waiting for Elizabeth in front of her music class and she started to walk passed him before he put his hand on her arm and said quietly, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Okay Darcy, what do you want?" Elizabeth asked with a roll of her eyes.

"I just wanted to tell you that you were right." Will said with a slight smile.

"I'm right, isn't that amazing and what was I right about?" The anger was harsh in Elizabeth's voice.

"I did some research and found out that you were right about Paul McCartney's songs." Will looked into her eyes with sincerity, "You were right that he is a lot more than silly love songs."

"Oh thrill." Elizabeth said sarcastically, "I was right about my own opinion. Will wonders never cease." She stepped around Darcy and entered her classroom leaving him speechless in the hall.

A few weeks later as September turned to October a pattern was emerging. Will would try to get close to Elizabeth and she lowered her guard just a little around him. But every time he tried to talk to her about how he felt about her she would shut down and put up walls not letting him get any closer to her.

One evening in early October, Will was talking to Georgie. Elizabeth had plans after school and hadn't come to the Fitzwilliam's to practice. Will's disappointment rose off him like a wave as he missed the only opportunity that he had to be with her.

"Will," Georgie tried to explain, "Elizabeth is just putting up the wall between you as a defense to defend her heart." She shook her head, "You were pretty clear when you met her that you didn't find her attractive and I know you quickly changed your mind but she doesn't trust the reality of that and is just trying to protect herself."

"I've done everything I can to convince her of how I truly feel about her." Will hung his head, "How can I get her to trust me?"

"I don't know the answer." Georgie said sadly, "I guess you just have to be there for her. Let her know that you are not going anywhere and that your feelings aren't fleeting." Georgie sighed, "Hopefully she will come around someday."

"Someday," Will slowly let out his breath, "I want her now not in some obscure concept of someday."

"I don't know what to tell you." Georgie shook her head, "I did hear that she was going to go to the pizza parlor with Jane, Charlie and some friends tonight." Will flinched at the words, "I know you don't like that kind of thing but it might be a good place to start."

Rick and Georgie agreed to accompany Will to the pizza parlor in hopes of Will getting some time alone with Elizabeth.

Elizabeth, Jane and Charlie were sitting together at a table when the other three arrived and Will, Rick and Georgie grabbed a few chairs and joined their friends at the same table.

Elizabeth glanced up at the door when she saw a couple people come through it; she got up, went to the door and hugged the young woman who came in the door.

"Who is that?" Will asked Rick as his forehead creased in question.

"That's Charlotte Lucas; a friend of Elizabeth's who graduated last year, she's going to the local college and that's her brother John who has been away at college for a few years."

Elizabeth didn't come back to their table and joined the Lucas's at their table. Will watched in horror as John Lucas pulled Elizabeth onto his lap and she giggled as she whispered something in his ear. He felt a stab of pain as he watched Elizabeth run her fingers through John's hair and down his neck to his shoulders.

Will pushed his chair back abruptly as he started having trouble breathing. He walked out of the door to get the fresh air. Will breathed deeply and he started to calm. When he had gotten himself under control he walked back inside to the table.

Rick and Georgie tried to distract him but he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away as John leaned in and kissed Elizabeth while she wrapped her arms around his neck. John stood up and guided Elizabeth to a private corner where they continued to kiss. Will watched with revulsion as John ran his hands along Elizabeth's breasts and down to the curve of her hips.

Will felt his head spinning and his whole world seemed to be falling apart as he saw the horrific scene unfold in front of him.

When he heard John excuse himself to use the restroom, Will jumped at his chance and walked over to Elizabeth, "Can I speak to you outside?"

Elizabeth agreed somewhat reluctantly and Will walked with her through the door. It was a beautiful fall night and Will took a deep breath as he tried to find his voice.

Elizabeth waited impatiently as she glanced toward the door, "Well what did you drag me out here for?"

"Elizabeth," His voice cracked with emotion as he tried to find the words, "It's killing me to see you with him, when all I want is to…"

Will paused and Elizabeth snapped, "Geez, Darcy just spit it out."

After conflicting emotions ran across his face, Will couldn't stand it anymore and pushed Elizabeth against the wall. He braced one hand against the wall behind her and with his other hand reached up to cup her face gently. His body moved against hers as his hips held her in place and he leaned his head towards her. In a voice filled with husky longing he said, "Please let me…"

"Please let you… what?" Elizabeth asked quietly.

His mouth moved closer to hers as she parted her lips slightly and leaned almost imperceptibly toward him. His hand stroked the side of her face and he heard the slight catch in her breath as she felt the heat radiating off his body.

When his mouth was just millimeters from hers the door to the restaurant opened and Caroline Bingley's voice intruded on their private moment.

"Will, there you are." Her shrill voice cut through him like a knife and she glared at Elizabeth with distaste, "What is she, your own little charity project?"

"Caroline, get out of here." Will growled in an angry voice as he pulled Elizabeth into his arms.

"I don't need your damn charity." Elizabeth was angry as she shoved Will away from her, stalked back through the door and pulled it closed with a bang behind her.

"Thank goodness, we have a little privacy." Caroline said in a sultry voice as she moved closer to him, "It's about time she got the hint that you're not interested."

Will's eyes blazed with fire, "What do you mean, Caroline?" His eyes opened as her words took on a new meaning, "What have you been telling Elizabeth?"

"I've just made sure that she is aware you could not possible be interested in her." Caroline told him with a high laugh, "She's just a trashy, no talent little nobody." She looked at Will and saw the fire in his eyes, "Yes, I know that you've taken pity on her and tried to help her for Georgie's sake but..."

"You don't know what the hell you are talking about." Will interrupted Caroline as he glared at her before he brushed passed her, "Get out of my sight before I tell you what I really think about you."

He walked back into the pizza parlor and over to Bingley, "Charlie, you'd better get your sister out of here before I kill her." Will's face was dark and angry.

Will raked his hand through his hair as he saw Elizabeth look at him with dislike and distrust as she slid her hand into John Lucas's and they left together.

_Damn, _Will's mind was reeling with understanding, _I'm going to kill that bitch Caroline for her snide comments. Why didn't I realize that she was so jealous of Elizabeth that's she's been sabotaging my efforts this whole time. How could I have been so stupid. No wonder Elizabeth hates me._

When they got home, Will stalked to his room and slammed the door. He heard a knock on his door a few minutes later and he snarled, "Come in."

Georgie came in and sat on his bed next to him, "What happened?" She asked as gently as she could.

"I… we… Elizabeth and I we were just about to kiss when that bitch Caroline interrupted and called Elizabeth a charity case." Will summarized quickly, "After Elizabeth left, Caroline admitted to me that she has been undermining my attempts to get Elizabeth to trust me all of this time."

Georgie leaned in to hug him, "It'll be alright."

He pulled back from his sister, "No it won't; Elizabeth will never forgive me and I can't say that I blame her. No wonder she feels the way she does about me." He pushed his face into his hands in agony, "How am I ever going to make this right."

"I don't know." Georgie said quietly, "But I've never known you to give up on anything."

"This reminds me of a song I came across while I was researching The Beatles called 'I Will.' Paul McCartney wrote and sang it on the Beatles White Album." Will let out a hollow sob, "It reminds me of how I feel about Elizabeth."

For the first time in over a year, Georgie heard the beautiful pure sound of her brother singing.

_ Who knows how long I've loved you.  
__ You know I love you still  
__ Will I wait a lonely life time  
__ If you want me to I will._

Once he sang the final note of the first verse, Georgie looked up and for the first time since their parent's death she saw tears running down her brother's face. Her heart broke for him as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly to her while he cried for the love he thought was gone forever.

Once he had released his grief, Will pulled away from his sister and said gently, "I'm okay now. You should go to bed."

She got up off the bed and took one last look at him, "I'll see you in the morning."

As Georgie shut the door behind her, she knew that she was going to make sure that Will had another chance with Elizabeth. She didn't know how to get them together but she knew where to go for help and she knocked on Rick's door.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you to all of you who are reading this story and my others. I can't believe that I am now working on 4 stories at the same time but I could not seem to get this story out of my head and had to write it. I re-wrote this chapter about 5 times because I was not happy with it. I wanted to have a certain feel with this chapter and wanted to showcase the deviousness of Georgie Darcy and Rick Fitzwilliam. I hope that it's a good as I would have imagined it.**

**Thank You**

**Tina Marie**

On Friday afternoon, Georgie was lounging across Rick's bed as they finished making arrangements as to how they were going to help Will with his Elizabeth dilemma.

"Elizabeth is going to be here in about a half hour." Georgie told him with a smirk, "She won't know what hit her."

"Are you sure that Will doesn't know what we are planning to do?" Rick asked with a frown.

"No, he absolutely clueless," Georgie giggled, "He's been so caught up in what happened with Elizabeth earlier this week that he hasn't been paying attention to what's going on around him."

"It's a good thing because with Will's luck where Elizabeth is concerned he would find a way to mess things up." Rick grinned at his cousin foibles and follies.

The doorbell rang and Rick went to answer the door. When he saw Elizabeth he said, "Georgie will meet you in the music room in a few minutes."

"Thanks, Rick." Elizabeth smiled gratefully as she made her way to the practice space.

Georgie was running a bit late and when she rushed into the music room she was a little out of breath. She looked at Elizabeth and asked, "I still need to set up here. Could you go down to the gym and let Will know that we are ready to start?"

"Sure." Elizabeth agreed as she got to her feet and left the room. Georgie smiled slyly as she saw her friend pass through the door.

Elizabeth made her way to the gym and when she stepped in through the door she saw Will on the treadmill and her jaw dropped in shock as a strong feeling of desire overwhelmed her. Will was running with his shirt was off and his muscular chest was glistening with sweat. Elizabeth just stood frozen in her tracks as she stared at him for a minute unable to speak.

When she found her voice, it cracked as she said loudly, "Georgie sent me to get you for practice."

Will's head snapped around at the sound of Elizabeth's voice and he hopped effortlessly off the machine. He grabbed his towel and wiped the sweat off his chest while he glanced surreptitiously at Elizabeth to gauge her reaction. He was pleased to see that her eyes were wide and watched with pleasure as her tongue peeked out to moisten her lips in an unconscious gesture.

He grabbed his t-shirt and pulled it over his head, "Let's go." He said as he put his hand against her lower back and he guided her out the door. His breath caught as he felt the charge between their bodies and felt Elizabeth shiver in response.

She deliberately shrugged away from his touch and he felt disappointed when he lost contact with her skin.

Georgie looked up when they arrived at the music room and when Will saw the gleam in Georgie's eye; he wondered what she was up to.

He narrowed his eyes as she waived her hand in front of her nose and made a choking sound, "Geez, Will you smell horrible," She looked over to Elizabeth as her eyes sparkled, "Go take a shower before you make us gag."

"Fine," Will glared at his sister as he peeked at Elizabeth who didn't react to Georgie's statement, "I'll be back in a few minutes." Will turned on his heal quickly and left the room.

Georgie picked up her phone and sent a text before she turned to Elizabeth. "Maybe we should warm up for a few minutes until Will gets back."

After Elizabeth had completed her warm up exercises; Georgie heard a beep and checked her message before she turned to Elizabeth, "You have something caught in your teeth." Georgie made a gesture to show her the location.

"You didn't get it, maybe you should got to the restroom and get it out before we get started." She looked down at the phone in her hand, "You can use the bathroom at the top of the stairs and on the left. Rick's in the one down here and he usually takes a while when he's in there."

"I'll be right back." Elizabeth said as she walked out of the door and headed towards the bathroom that Georgie had indicated.

She had her hand on the door and was about to turn the knob when the door opened inward and Elizabeth stumbled forward.

Will was surprised to see Elizabeth at the door and when she tripped he reached out to catch her. He held her tightly against his body with complete reverence. He looked down into her shocked face as she pushed against him trying to free herself from his embrace.

Her belt got caught on his towel and as she moved away from him he had to grab the towel that was wrapped around him before he lost it completely. "Elizabeth, hold on a minute or else you will see more of me than you bargained for." He hooked his fingers on the waistband of her jeans. His tried to keep his body under control as he felt her move against him in an innocently seductive manner. "Please stay still." He found the buckle of her belt and freed the towel. He tucked in the edges and smiled down at Elizabeth, "Now you can take care of your business."

She took a large step back and gasped softly as she took in Will's appearance for the first time. His dark curly hair was wet and as her eyes dropped slowly, she saw with a sharp intake of breath that his body was slick with water and he had a towel draped casually around his waist. A flush rose in her cheeks as her eyes flicked downward and took in his muscular bare legs.

Will watched as Elizabeth appraised him and he saw the flush creep onto her face and heard when her breathing became erratic.

He smiled as he said, "It's all yours." His voice held a hint of humor at his double entendre.

"Huh." Elizabeth's confusion made Will grin even broader as he indicated the door behind him, "Oh." Her voice was soft as she finally understood, "Georgie said that I should use this bathroom."

"I'm just going to get dressed and I will meet you downstairs." Will stood in the hall for a moment while he watched Elizabeth stumble into the restroom.

He rushed to his bedroom and got changed quickly as he thought over Elizabeth's reaction to his near naked body and chuckled. All of the sudden things with Elizabeth didn't seem so impossible. He could see that she was reacting to him physically and that made him happy.

Will narrowed his eyes as he remembered that Elizabeth said that Georgie had told her to use that bathroom. Georgie knew that was where Will showered so why had she sent Elizabeth there. His breath caught in his throat when he realized that this had all been engineering by his sly sister and most likely a cagey ally like Rick.

As he made his way back downstairs, he stood in the door of the music room for a minute just enjoying the sound of Elizabeth warming up. _I love her voice; I could listen to her all day._ He took in the lovely sound before he strode into the room.

When he stepped into the room his sister was grinning and winked at him. _Damn, she really did this deliberately and she must have had Rick help her to time my exit from the shower so perfectly._

He took his seat next to Elizabeth and whispered to Georgie, "I know what the two of you did and you will hear about it later."

"Will," Georgie smirked as she blinked her eyes innocently, "Did I tell you that Elizabeth is going to spend the night here tonight?"

"No." Will was distracted at his sister's words and when he glanced over at Elizabeth he couldn't help but think about her being in the same house with him tonight. He shook off those thoughts for now and said, "We'd better get to work."

For the next hour as Will coached Elizabeth it was difficult to keep his mind on what they were doing because he kept thinking about Elizabeth, her being here tonight and her obvious physical reaction to him earlier.

When they had finished for the evening, Will looked at Elizabeth and his eyes softened while he took in her appearance. He glanced at her one last time before he excused himself from the room.

When he went upstairs, Will felt overheated and decided to take a swim so he got changed into his swim trunks, grabbed a towel and walked down to the pool. When the Fitzwilliam's had built this house, they had spared no expense and had added an indoor swimming pool. Their family was able to swim in a temperature controlled environment all year round and Will was grateful because he liked to end his day swimming laps to work off his excess energy.

Tonight Will was so keyed up by Elizabeth's presence and because he couldn't stop thinking about what had happened with her earlier that he needed his nightly ritual even more than usual.

As he plunged into the water and stroked his way across the pool, Will let his mind wander and he began to fantasize about Elizabeth and his thoughts took him to the incident outside the bathroom when his towel had become caught on her belt.

_He stepped towards Elizabeth as he saw the desire in her eyes while he picked her up and carried her just a few steps to his bedroom. As he locked his door he kissed her lovely neck and shoulders. He heard a soft little moan escape her lips as he reached down and removed her belt. His hands swiftly unbuttoned and lowered the zipper on her jeans. He slipped the jeans down off her hips and as he gazed upon Elizabeth his towel dropped. Elizabeth's mouth formed a perfect 'O' as she looked at him._

The sound of voices interrupted Will's thoughts and he looked up to see the star of his fantasy in the flesh standing above him with a mere few scraps of tiny material covering her beautiful body. Her full breasts seemed to strain against the fabric of the bikini top. She turned to place her towel on the lounge chair and Will caught a glimpse of her gorgeous rear end while he felt the blood rushing to his nether regions as he responded to the lovely woman who was standing in front of him.

"Elizabeth didn't bring a bathing suit," Georgie's voice came through the fog of his mind, "so I lent her one of mine. She looks terrific doesn't she Will?"

"Yes." Will's voice sounded soft in his ears, "But then she always does."

Elizabeth danced from side to side in embarrassment as she heard the comments made about her. "There is no need to be polite; Will as there's no one else to hear you." In a quick movement she ran down the steps and into the pool as she disappeared beneath the surface of the water.

Will turned back to the pool and pushed his body hard as he finished his laps. He tried to keep his mind from wandering to more pleasant thoughts but his task was nearly impossible as he would catch glimpses of Elizabeth and Georgie frolicking in the pool as he swam.

The girls were laying on the lounge chairs when he exited the pool. As he walked up the steps, he glanced at Elizabeth and saw a fire in her eyes as she watched him. He almost lost his mind as he saw her tongue flick out to moisten her lips._ God, I want to be the one to taste her lips._

Elizabeth eyes followed Will as he grabbed a towel and dried his body. Her eyes took in the pure masculine beauty of this man and she couldn't stop her body from responding to the maleness of his form. She shook her head as if to dispel the vivid thoughts that were troubling her. _I don't even like Will Darcy, so how can my body react this strongly to his presence._

Elizabeth averted her eyes and tried to focus on anything besides Will.

Georgie had been watching the whole interaction with a smirk on her face and light dancing in her eyes. Her plan was working and it was obvious that the chemistry between Elizabeth and Will was explosive. She sighed; _I just have to get Elizabeth to admit that she is attracted to Will but she's so stubborn and still feels that she was wronged by Will. This is not going to be an easy job. _Georgie shook her head in exasperation.

Will slung the towel over his shoulder as he glanced back at Elizabeth and felt the pull of his response to her. He rushed upstairs not daring to look back again. He took a quick shower and got dressed in shorts and a t-shirt.

He tried to get his mind off Elizabeth but that was impossible because he could hear the two of them giggling in Georgie's room. It was about midnight before the house got quiet so Will left the sanctuary of his bedroom and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

He found there were a few more slices of the chocolate cake that the cook had left for them. He cut off a slice and poured a glass of milk. He sat down at the table and began to eat as he heard soft footsteps behind him and he turned to see Elizabeth standing in the doorway in nothing more than an oversized t-shirt.

He grinned up at her and he felt suddenly light hearted, "There's another piece of cake left if you would like to join me?"

Elizabeth laughed nervously, "You have just discovered my weakness for chocolate cake."

"You're not the only one in this room with that affliction." Will admitted as he stood up and plated the last slice for Elizabeth, "Would you like some?" Will cocked his head toward the milk and Elizabeth nodded so he poured a glass for the beautiful woman who took the seat next to him.

Will saw Elizabeth's eyes take in his appearance and he laughed, "At least this time I'm fully clothed."

Elizabeth giggled a little nervously, "And me not so much." She waved a hand down to the t-shirt she was wearing.

Will arched his eyebrows, "Well, I guess that makes us even for today."

Elizabeth shifted her head to look at him, "I don't think so because you were much more covered at the pool than I was." Her smile was self deprecating, "Georgie is a lot more slender than I am and so her swim suit barely covered my more substantial proportions."

"Well," Will grinned; "I was very impressed with your… proportions." His glance was wicked, "Besides you almost saw my entire package when you tried to rip the towel off me earlier."

"I did nothing of the sort." Elizabeth sputtered until she saw the humor in Will's eyes and she gently punched him on the shoulder, "You are such a tease."

Will rubbed his shoulder mockingly and as Elizabeth took another bite of cake he saw there was a little bit of frosting still on her lips.

"You have a bit of something…" His voice trailed off as he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. His tongue darted out to lick the frosting from her lips and he felt her lips part under his. Will gently tasted the inside of her lips. Elizabeth's mouth opened to give him greater access and he didn't need any more of an invitation before he deepened the kiss. He felt her response to him and it sent shock waves through his body.

Will pulled back as his breath became heavier and he rained soft kisses along her neck and throat as he moaned her name, "Elizabeth."

She pulled back from him as her body trembled slightly, "Will stop, I can't think."

"Neither can I," Will's voice was husky as he leaned forward to feel the heady sensation of her lips against his again.

"Will, no." Elizabeth stood up and her eyes darted to his face, "I can't do this."

As she walked way, Will's stomach was clenched in knots as he tried to figure out what he had done wrong this time.

He cleared the dishes away and loaded them in the dishwasher before he finally headed back up to bed. He stood outside Georgie's door but couldn't hear anything from inside.

When he got to his bedroom, Will crawled into bed and when he finally fell asleep early in the morning his dreams were full of Elizabeth.


	5. Chapter 5

_Elizabeth came to him in the early morning dressed in only the oversized t-shirt she had worn earlier in the evening. She slid into his bed behind him and kissed his neck while she slipped her hands around to caress his muscled chest._

_"I couldn't stay away from you." Elizabeth's voice was low with passion, "I want you so much it makes me crazy with desire."_

_His voice was full of need as he turned to face her, "God, Elizabeth, I want you, too." He pulled her tight to his body, "I've wanted you for so long and I was afraid I had lost you forever."_

_"I will never leave you." Elizabeth vowed as her fingers glided down his back to his bottom and she raked her finger nails along the muscles until he groaned out with pleasure._

_With a growl of desire, he crushed her lips under his with an ardor that could no longer be denied. Her mouth opened under his and her tongue flicked out to touch the corner of his mouth. Will deepened the kiss as their tongues met on the battleground of love. He ran his hands along her thigh and under the hem of her t-shirt until he found the roundness of her rear and moved her against his straining arousal._

_"Will, I want you now." Elizabeth's voice cried out with need, "Please."_

The incessant buzzing of his alarm clock finally penetrated Will's consciousness as he groaned with frustration. "Damn." He hit the alarm clock so hard that it flew off his nightstand.

He walked quickly down the hall to bathroom and turned on the water in the shower. He stepped into the spray and shivered as the cold water hit him. Once the cold water had the desired effect on his body he turned on the hot and relaxed under the spray. As he washed, he mind took him back to the delicious dream from this morning. _His Elizabeth warm and willing in his arms, he would give anything for the reality._

It wasn't very long before his mind took him back to the scene in the kitchen the night before and he groaned with longing as he thought about her taste and smell. The feel of her lips against his and he couldn't wait to kiss her again.

Will was whistling a happy tune when he walked into the kitchen for breakfast. The delicious smell took him by surprise as he saw Elizabeth standing at the stove making pancakes.

He took in the sight as he saw that Elizabeth's hair was still damp from a shower and she was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Without stopping to think, he wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his nose in the waves of her dark curly hair before he feathered kisses on the pulse point of her neck.

"Smells so good," Will said in a low velvet voice as his lips moved along her neck.

"Good," Elizabeth motioned to the plate of food, "I hope you like pancakes."

"I was talking about you." Will's eyes were ablaze with desire as she turned in his arms.

"Will," Her sweet voice was like a caress for his soul.

He felt her tense as he heard voices in the hall. Elizabeth slipped out of his arms quickly and she tried to regain her composure. Rick and Georgie entered the room laughing and talking.

"Pancakes, my favorite," Rick said as whistled appreciatively at Elizabeth, "If this is what we can expect every morning, we're going to have to think about keeping you."

Elizabeth flushed red and Will gave Rick a warning look as Elizabeth handed them both plates of pancakes.

As they all sat and ate the breakfast that Elizabeth made for them, Will asked, "So girls what is on the agenda for today?"

It was Elizabeth who answered, "I have to go home because I promised my sisters that I would go to the mall with them." She rolled her eyes with a smile.

"But Elizabeth, you have to stay." Georgie protested, "Will always takes me to do something fun on Saturday."

"I'm sorry Georgie but I can't leave Jane to deal with the mob all alone." Elizabeth sighed as she stood to collect the dishes.

Will stood up to help her, "You cooked us this wonderful breakfast so why don't you let me clean up."

"I can do this." Elizabeth said stubbornly, "I do it all the time."

Will saw the set of Elizabeth's jaw and smiled with a compromise, "Okay but at least let me help." He grinned at her with his eyes twinkling, "You can load the dishwasher while I clear the table and clean up."

"Alright," Elizabeth conceded, "You can help."

The two worked in companionable silence and the kitchen was clean in no time.

As Elizabeth folded and sat down the dish towel, Will walked towards her in a purposeful motion. He slipped his hands around her waist and lifted her so that she was seated on the table. He moved inside her legs and leaned his head to kiss her. The exquisite sensation of her mouth exploded around him as he felt her wrap her legs around his waist. His hand found the curve of her breast as his tongue found hers.

While Will's mouth was staking his claim, he tried to pull her closer to him but Elizabeth's hand pushed against his chest with gentle force.

He lifted his mouth from hers and tilted his head in question, "Elizabeth?"

"Will, we have to talk." Elizabeth said as she dropped down from the table. Will caught her in his arms but she stepped away. "I can't think when you're that close."

"Neither can I," Will smiled as he moved his fingers gently down her cheek.

"Will, I don't understand any of this." Elizabeth moved around the room in an agitated manner, "What was your girlfriend too busy to see you this weekend?"

"My girlfriend," Will looked at her quizzically, "I don't have a girlfriend."

"You don't need to play with me; Caroline told me all about the two of you." Elizabeth's face twisted into a pained expression.

"Caroline isn't my girlfriend and has never been." Will said as he caught Elizabeth's eye, "You have to trust me."

Elizabeth's head shot up, "I don't think I can trust you."

Will felt like he'd been slapped, "Elizabeth."

"I'm sorry Will but I have to go." She moved toward the kitchen door but he caught her hand.

"Elizabeth, please believe me." He begged as his voice cracked with emotion.

"I can't." She said as she pulled her hand out of his and set her mouth in a hard line.

"Elizabeth, please give me a chance." Will's voice turned angry, "It's not like you don't have a past. I saw you making out with John Lucas but I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt."

"Aren't you generous?" Elizabeth scoffed as she tried to wound Will, "So I'm attracted to John and we dated before he left for college. I like him and he's nice to me unlike some other people I could mention."

Will was stunned by the viciousness of her words and took a step back. He ran a hand through his hair as he fought against the pain. _How could everything have gone so wrong so fast? He was so happy this morning and he thought Elizabeth was too. She said she couldn't trust him and thought Caroline was his girlfriend._

Elizabeth was moved by the pain in Will's face and instantly felt sorry for her attack on him. "I'm sorry, Will but I'm so confused by you. I can't figure you out at all, one minute I'm not your type and the next you're kissing me. Caroline tells me that she's your girlfriend and gives me excruciating details about you and her but you tell me she's not your girlfriend." She shook her head to clear her mind, "How can I trust someone who vacillates as much as you do."

"Elizabeth," Will moved in closer to take her hand, "I know what I want and that's you; please believe me."

Elizabeth closed her eyes and sighed, "Will, you have to give me time to think and I can't think when you're around."

"I'll give you all the time you need." He agreed quickly as he held her hand for just a few seconds longer before he dropped it.

"Thank you," Elizabeth said, "But I do have to leave."

"I'll see you later?" Will's words were a question.

"Yes." Elizabeth said as she turned to take her leave.

Will called Charlie to see if he wanted to hang out for a while. He and Rick were going to take Georgie skating later but he was at a loose end until then.

When Charlie arrived the first thing he asked was, "So how are things going with Elizabeth?" Charlie raised his eyebrows, "I heard from Jane that she was spending the night here last night."

"Yeah, she did." Will sighed, "But she has me all tied up in knots. When she's around, I don't know which side is up."

"She went to the mall with all her sisters this morning." Will explained, "Otherwise I might have been able to spend the day with her."

Charlie's head snapped back as he heard Will's words, "All of her sisters including Jane."

"Yes."

"Well, what are we waiting around here like idiots for?" Charlie bounded to his feet, "Let's go find our girls."

"Elizabeth's not exactly 'my girl'." Will qualified.

"Well then you need to go fight for her." Charlie said with good humor, "I'll get to see my darling Jane."

"Okay, we'll go find the girls at the mall." Will agreed as a smile broke over his face.

They got to the mall and found the Bennet sister's quickly because it would have been hard to miss the five girls.

As Will and Charlie strode up to them, Will stopped short when he saw who was standing with the Bennets, "Damn, George Wickham." Will breathed in fury.

Elizabeth was standing facing Georgie Wickham deep in conversation with him. Anger bubbled up in Will's chest as he watched while George flirted with his Elizabeth.

He couldn't stand seeing her with any other guy and moved by pure adrenaline and instinct, Will walked up next to Elizabeth and slid his arm around her waist as he said loudly, "Sorry I'm late darling."

Will felt as Elizabeth's whole body tensed up and he could almost feel the anger radiating from her as she hissed, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you," He whispered back and he caught sight of Bingley and Jane, "And Charlie wanted to see Jane."

"Will, I need to speak to you privately." Elizabeth said as she took his hand and led him toward an empty corridor.

Will glanced up in time to see the twisted malicious look on Wickham's face as he watched Will and Elizabeth walk away.

When they were assured of their privacy, Elizabeth's anger boiled over, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I told you, I couldn't wait to see you again." Will said as he leaned in to take her hand.

Elizabeth snatched her hand away, "I thought you were going to give me time?"

"I was but then Charlie wanted to see Jane and I thought you might be happy to see me." His voice low and seductive.

Her eyes were blazing with anger and Elizabeth exploded, "Where the hell do you get off coming in and staking your claim on me like we're together or something?"

Will shifted his weight in misery, "Well, I was hoping that we were together after last night and this morning."

"Are you so jealous that you can't bear to see another guy talking to me?" Elizabeth seethed in anger.

"Yes, I am." Will's voice was low but full of pain.

The pain and truth of his answer melted all of Elizabeth's anger away as her shoulders sagged.

"Will I can't do this right now." Elizabeth said as she closed her eyes, "I told you this morning that I needed time and you said you would give it to me so I need you to leave now."

"Okay, I'll go." Will agreed as he walked slowly away from her.

George Wickham was excited as he stepped out of the shadows after he listened to the conversation between Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy. He whistled a happy tune as he watched Darcy walk away in defeat. He rejoined the group inconspicuously before Elizabeth returned and knew how he could enact his revenge on Will Darcy. The only person who had noticed he had gone was Lydia Bennet and he winked at her with a raise of his eyebrows.

When Will arrived back home, he went straight to the music room and began to play. It didn't take him long to realize that he was playing 'I Will' and he sang from his heart.

_Who knows how long I've loved you,  
__You know I love you still  
__Will I wait a lonely lifetime,  
__If you want me to I will._

_For if I ever saw you,  
__I didn't catch your name,  
__But it never really mattered,  
__I will always feel the same_

_Love you forever and forever,  
__Love you with all my heart;  
__Love you whenever we're together  
__Love you when we're apart_

_And when at last I find you,  
__Your song will fill the air,  
__Sing it loud so I can hear you,  
__Make it easy to be near you,  
__For the things you do endear you to me,  
__You know I will.  
__I will._

Georgie walked in as Will started to sing and was mesmerized at the depth and emotion he pulled from his soul.

When the last note ended, she heard Will cry out in desperation, "Please sing for me, Elizabeth, please sing."

Georgie went to Will and wrapped her arms around him. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

With a deep sigh, Will filled her in on what happened in the last 24 hours.

When he finished, Georgie sighed, "You see it's not so bad. She just needs to take some time to figure out what she's feeling."

"But she doesn't trust me." Will moaned, "Then I show up at the mall and see her talking to Wickham and act like a jealous fool. I am such an idiot."

At the sound of Wickham's name, Georgie flinched and Will asked, "Are you alright? I'm can't believe I've been so unfeeling toward you."

"I'm fine Will." Georgie said as she smiled, "Not to say that I'm not horrified to find out that Wickham's in town."

The two talked for hours before Georgie went upstairs to take a shower and get changed for skating while Will was left to his own thoughts.

The doorbell rang, Will went to answer it and when he opened the door it was the last person he expected to show up at his home, George Wickham.

"What are you doing here?" He asked through clenched teeth.

"What, can't I come visit my old foster brother?" His eyes flicked toward the stairs, "and foster sister."

Will was furious and spat, "Get the hell out of here, Wickham, you're not welcome here."

"That's okay." George smiled as he ran his hand through his blond hair, "I just wanted to thank you for handing me Elizabeth Bennet on a silver platter."

"What are you talking about?" Will growled as the anger and panic rose in his chest.

"I just told Elizabeth a little story about how mistreated I was when I lived at the Darcy's as a foster child." His grin intensified, "She bought every little lie about how poor Georgie Wickham was mistreated by the proud disagreeable son of his foster family." His face twisted into a cruel line, "She was full of sympathy when she found out how you got me fired from my job at your country club just because your girlfriend fell in love with me."

"Wickham you know that's a lie." Will sputtered, "You were fired because you had sex with almost all of the member's teenage daughters and got caught because one ended up pregnant."

"That's not what my delightful Elizabeth thinks." Will's temper got the best of him as he grabbed Wickham by the shirt, "I'm not really that into her." Wickham raised his eyebrows, "I like the wild sister, Lydia better but I'm sure looking forward to making Elizabeth mine. It should be a fun experiment, I like taking what you want."

Will pulled back and swung his fist into Wickham's eye before Rick heard the commotion, ran to the door and pulled Will off Wickham. "If you so much as touch one hair on Elizabeth's head, I will kill you." Will shouted as Rick held him back.

"This will do quite well." Wickham noted with a laugh, "Back up my story to Elizabeth quite well about how much you hate me just because your parents and sister loved me better than you."

"Get the hell out of here Wickham." Rick growled, "Before I let him at you."

"I'm going now don't get your panties in a bunch." George Wickham walked down the driveway whistling.

"I'm going to kill him." Will cried as Rick shut the door.

"That won't solve anything." Rick said quietly as he heard Georgie come into the room.

"What happened?" She asked as she saw her brother in such a state of agitation.

"Wickham was here." Rick told her the truth and watched his cousin turn white.

"I didn't see that coming." Georgie said as she turned to go back upstairs, "I don't think I want to go skating today."

"Damn." Will said as he pulled himself free of Rick's grasp, "Can you go talk to Georgie? I have to go see Elizabeth."

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Rick said, "You will see her in school on Monday and can clear everything up."

"Great, my life just turned to shit and you tell me to wait until school." Will slumped in a chair and put his face in his hands, "What if she did believed him?"

"Elizabeth is a smart girl who has a level head on her shoulders." Rick reminded him, "How could she ever believe a snake like Wickham?"

****I Will – words and music by John Lennon and Paul McCartney of the Beatles for the White Album written at an ashram in Rishikesh.**


	6. Chapter 6

**_A/N: This has been one of the hardest chapters for me to write. I finally figured out why and that was because the Halloween scene is the first one I envisioned with this story and so I wanted it to be exactly right. I rewrote it many times and finally when I tried to go to sleep, I finally came up with the ideas that appeared in that scene. Isn't that always the case. I hope you enjoy._**

_**Tina Marie**_

On Sunday morning, Will stood poised on the Bennet's doorstep hesitantly while he contemplated whether he should really be here or not, Rick had told him to wait until Monday to talk to Elizabeth. But Will had woken up early this morning after a long sleepless night and he was desperate to see Elizabeth to explain. In the end he decided to ignore Rick's advice and went to see Elizabeth. So here he was standing like an idiot on the doorstep of the girl he liked doing absolutely nothing.

He made up his mind that since he was already here he may as well speak to her so he knocked and the door was answered by one of Elizabeth's sisters who Will remembered was Kitty.

"She's not here." Kitty said with a giggle, "She went out for the day with George Wickham and she won't be home until late." The silly girl giggled again as she blushed, "He's so hot; I wish he had asked me out instead of Elizabeth."

Will's hands clenched into fists as he tried to control his anger, "Can you tell Elizabeth that I stopped by?" He turned once more before he left, "Also tell her that I need to talk to her when she gets home and have her call me no matter what time it is."

Will drove around aimlessly just trying to get rid of the feeling of hopelessness that surrounded him. _I can't believe that this has happened. Why does George Wickham always have to ruin my life? But don't you understand, Wickham said it himself; he likes to take what I want. He just loves to see me miserable. _Will hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand in frustration and anger.

He tried to steady his breathing as he worked to calm his anger. _I can't give her up without a fight. _Will decided as he turned his car to go home. _I know Elizabeth has feelings for me otherwise she wouldn't have kissed me the way she did on Friday night and Saturday morning._ Will made up his mind,_ if she doesn't call me today, I'll talk to her on Monday and we'll get this straightened out._ After his decision Will's mind was in a better place and he drove home.

Georgie met Will at the door when he got home, anxious to find out what had happened. "So how did things go with Elizabeth?"

Will sighed; "I didn't get to see her because she was out," He paused to take a deep breath as the pain swirled around him, "with Wickham."

Georgie visibly paled, "But you have been gone for so long so I thought you were with her."

"I drove around for a while trying to clear my head." Will admitted with a painfully hollow laugh, "I really needed that after I found out she was with _him._" He spat out the name.

"Will, what are you going to do?" Georgie asked as she fidgeted and tried to calm her apprehension.

"I'm going to tell her the truth." Will said with a shake of his head, "I'm going to let her know what a snake Wickham really is and hope that will convince her."

"But Will you wouldn't…" Georgie looked down as she twisted her hands together, "tell her about me would you?"

Will looked down at his little sister and saw the pain etched on her face, "Of course not, Georgie." He gave her a hug to comfort her, "I would never air our family's dirty laundry in public."

"But she might not believe you unless you tell her about me." Georgie cried, "I'm so sorry Will, this is entirely my fault; if I hadn't been such an idiot about Wickham none of this would be happening to you." Tears were running down her face as she ran from the room.

"Georgie," Will called to his sister but finished under his breath when she was gone, "you can't blame yourself for what has happened with Elizabeth because that's entirely my fault."

Monday morning, as it seemed was becoming Will's habit, he was once again standing outside the music room where he was waiting for Elizabeth. She hadn't called him the day before and he was desperate to explain. When he saw her approach, he lifted his head anxiously and asked, "May I speak with you privately?"

"I don't have anything to say to you." Elizabeth's eyes were blazing with anger, "George told me everything and it just confirmed what I have always thought about you."

"Elizabeth," Will pleaded with her, "Please, you have to listen to me; George has not been telling you the truth." Will took in a deep breath before the words tumbled out, "I've known him for a long time and I can tell you from experience that anything that comes out of Wickham's mouth is rarely the truth." Will closed his eyes for a moment and ran his hands through his hair, "I know that he painted me as this black hearted person but that's not who I am." Will begged Elizabeth to believe him.

Elizabeth pursed her lips, "So you didn't get him fired from his job at your country club."

"Well yes." Will's heart crashed to his stomach, "But not for the reason he told you."

"Well then tell me, what was the reason?" Elizabeth asked as she narrowed her eyes.

"Elizabeth," Will's voice was soft as he tried to figure out how to tell her the story, "George's reputation at the country club was not very good. He seduced more than one girl at the club that summer and more than one ended up pregnant." He looked at Elizabeth to see how she was reacting and saw a hard set to her mouth. "I had direct knowledge of his transgressions and went to the owner to demand his immediate dismissal."

Elizabeth's eyes were filled with anger, "This direct knowledge wouldn't happen to be the fact that your girlfriend deserted you to be with George because she was in love with him, was it?"

"That was part of it." Will admitted, "But not everything, I had another reason for wanting him fired and I wasn't the only one who went to the owner, there was a line a mile long behind me with father's wanting Wickham fired because of their daughter's virtue."

"What was the other reason?" Elizabeth asked but she couldn't keep the disdain out of her voice.

Will's mind wandered for a moment as he thought back to last summer when he had found Georgie in the park. He could see her tear stained face and blood on her hands. He had rushed her to the hospital but there was nothing that anyone could do. He thought about how withdrawn Georgie had become after the incident. She had changed in the last few months due to Elizabeth's friendship and he had promised Georgie last night that he would never tell her secret.

With a sigh of resignation, Will shrugged his shoulders, "I can't tell you that."

"That's what I thought." Sarcasm dripped from Elizabeth's lips and she smiled when she asked her next question, "And you didn't punch him in eye?" Elizabeth voice had an icy tone that sent shivers down Will's spine.

Will paused to look at Elizabeth and admitted, "Okay, I hit him but he deserved it for the things he said about you."

"Will Darcy, I am not yours to protect," Elizabeth's fury shot through him, "No matter what you think, I am not your girlfriend, I have a right to go out with anyone I want and I will not tolerate your jealous rages."

Elizabeth's eyes bore a hole into Will's soul as she dared him to contradict her statement. Her anger radiated through him but he couldn't tear his eyes away from her. As the final bell rang, Elizabeth pushed passed Will as she stepped into her classroom.

Will just stood there in astonished disbelief as he realized what had happened, the shrill sound of the bell finally registered in his subconscious and he ran toward his classroom but was still late and to make a bad day worse ended up with detention.

The next few weeks were a couple of the hardest of Will Darcy's life. He had to watch Wickham and Elizabeth spend time together. Wickham deliberately tortured Will by making sure that he was always there to witness him touching and kissing Elizabeth. George would grin evilly at him afterwards and make rude gestures that would send Will through the roof with anger.

Will looked forward to the days that Georgie would practice with Elizabeth even though Elizabeth treated him with polite indifference. He was just thankful that he got to spend time with her.

The only other bright spot on the horizon for Will was that Georgie had invited Elizabeth to spend the night with her on Halloween as they were going to have a scary movie marathon. When the day arrived Will was so excited to have Elizabeth in their house overnight again that he had to spend the time until her arrival in the gym working off his excess energy. He couldn't help but remember with affection the last time she had spent the night here. He didn't know how he was going to manage it but he had decided that he was going to spend time with Elizabeth.

Rick was going out on a date and answered the door when Elizabeth rang the bell and he told her, "Georgie's in her room waiting for you."

Before he left, Rick walked down to the gym where he found Will lifting weights, "Elizabeth is here." He turned with a smile, "If that is of any interest to you."

When Will went upstairs he saw that Georgie's door was open and he heard as she said to Elizabeth, "Why are you being so stubborn about this? You know that George is seeing Mary King because he isn't even bothering to hide it."

"Georgie, I'm not going to talk to you about this." Will heard Elizabeth reply.

"But Will was telling you the truth." Georgie said with determination, "After what George has done, you should know that by now."

"Georgie, I'm not talking to you about your brother." Elizabeth said with a sigh, "When it comes to Will you and I just have to agree to disagree if we are going to be friends." Will stepped closer and he saw Elizabeth shake her hair, "I know he's your brother and you love him so you're a little biased but you're both prejudiced when it comes to George Wickham and that's all I have to say about him."

"Elizabeth Bennet," Georgie shouted, "You are the most stubborn person I have ever met." Georgie laughed a little as she muttered, "Besides Will."

Elizabeth laughed at Georgie's words and the topic of conversation turned to more mundane things so Will went to take a shower.

Will's thoughts were chaotic as the hot water flowed down his body. _So Georgie had told Elizabeth that Wickham was seeing Mary King but Elizabeth wasn't listening to her. _Will tried to focus his thoughts_; Now I just need to get Elizabeth to see how good we are together._

As a thought struck him, Will turned off the shower and grabbed a towel to wrap around his waist. Now that he had a plan, he was feeling much better about the situation and his spirits had lifted as a result.

He opened the bathroom door and Elizabeth was standing there looking at him with shock in her eyes. A smile lifted the corners of his mouth and his eyes twinkled with humor as Elizabeth stared at his bare chest with obvious fascination.

"Are you just going to stand there and undress me with your eyes or are you going to come over here and undress me for real." Will couldn't believe that the words came out of his mouth but they had nonetheless.

Elizabeth just glared at him for a moment before her eyes narrowed and she said angrily, "Will Darcy, you are the last man in the world that I would undress, with my eyes or anything else so get that stupid grin off your face and let me pass."

He stepped to one side with a grin as she stomped by him. After the incident with Elizabeth, Will went to his room to get changed and he suddenly felt lighthearted.

Will waited until they had started the first movie before he walked into Georgie's room and he smiled when he saw the glare on Elizabeth's face.

"So what are you guys watching?" Will asked with a lift of his eyebrows.

Georgie answered quickly, "First up is _Nightmare on Elm Street._"

"That's one of my favorites." Will said as he stood there with his hands in his pockets.

"Do you want to join us?" Georgie asked as she winked at her brother.

"I'd love to." Will moved around to the side of the bed where Elizabeth was sitting propped up against the headboard.

"What do you want?" Elizabeth said angrily.

"You're on my side of the bed." Will grinned playfully, "You'll need to move over for me."

Elizabeth just glared at Will before she looked down at the bed and shrugged, "There's not enough room."

"I'm more than willing to share." Will's eyes twinkled with enjoyment as he picked Elizabeth up in his arms while she struggled against him, he sat down on the bed where she had been and when he let her down, he settled her between his legs. "See we both fit as long as we share, now isn't that better." He grinned at Georgie as he patted his chest, "You even have a nice pillow to lie against." He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against him.

Georgie giggled, "I'll be right back," She tried hard to contain her laughter, "I have to go to the bathroom."

Elizabeth wiggled against Will trying to break free of his hold, "Would you just let me go."

Will laughed wickedly as he twirled a non-existent villain's mustache, "Now that I've got you where I want you, I'm never letting you go."

Elizabeth sputtered as she tried not to laugh at Will's silly behavior, "You are so bad."

Elizabeth squirmed around trying to get comfortable but her movements were not helping Will's self control as she rubbed up against him in a very intimate way. Will whispered against her ear as his lips caressed her, "I just want you to know that I really like it when you do that."

"What are you talking about?" Elizabeth asked as she turned to face him.

"You feel so good when you move against me like that." Will said as he raised his eyebrows, "It feels so good."

Elizabeth turned bright red as she said, "Ugh, Will Darcy get off me." She elbowed Will in the abdomen and he released her with a chuckle.

When Georgie came back the two were still engaged in a battle of wills each trying to get their own way.

"Will, why don't we move this party into your room." Georgie suggested with an arch to her eyebrow, "You have a bigger bed so we'll be more comfortable."

"That sounds good to me." Will agreed as Elizabeth slid off the bed quickly.

"Lizzie, you and I should get changed for bed and we'll meet Will in his bedroom." Georgie insisted.

Will grinned and his eyes flashed, "I would get changed but I sleep in the nude."

"That's not true." Georgie shook her head as she slapped him on the shoulder, "It's not true Elizabeth, my brother is just teasing you. We lived with our Aunt Catherine and she would have found it highly improper if Will would have slept in the nude."

After the girls dressed, they walked down to Will's room and he was just about to start the movie. Will turned to see that Elizabeth was wearing an oversized t-shirt and his body responded to her appearance.

Georgie settled on the right side of the bed and Will took the left. Will patted the inside of the bed and Elizabeth climbed in between the siblings as Will pushed the remote and restarted the movie.

Will leaned in and whispered to Elizabeth, "When I fantasized about having you in my bed, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

Elizabeth's eyes flashed at him, "Just keep your hands to yourself."

"So I see you have popcorn." Will observed, "Did you get any other snacks?"

"Sure we got malt balls, red vines and junior mints," Georgie smiled, "We're all set for our movie marathon."

Will leaned in close to Elizabeth and reached over to get some malt balls from her, "Will, what are you doing?" Elizabeth demanded, "I told you to keep your hands to yourself."

"I just wanted some of your malt balls." Will said as he lowered his eyes to meet hers.

"Well, go play with your own balls then and leave mine alone." Elizabeth said grumpily as she put some malt balls in his hands and much to Elizabeth's mortification, Will and Georgie burst out laughing at her accidental double entendre.

"You know what I meant." Elizabeth said as she tried to stop herself from laughing and she put a hand over her mouth to hide the grin that was twitching at her lips, "It's not that funny." Elizabeth said but she couldn't hold back the laughter any longer and it just burst out of her. She laughed so hard that she had to wipe tears from her eyes.

Will's heart skipped a beat at the sound of Elizabeth's laughter so he narrowed his eyes and peaked over at her. He could see that her face had relaxed and a smile graced her lips.

During the course of the movies, when Elizabeth got frightened she turned her head and buried her face in Will's shoulder. Will slowly moved closer to her as the movie progressed and moved his arm so that it was resting behind her.

He saw a bit of chocolate on Elizabeth's finger and he couldn't resist so he reached over as he pulled her finger into his mouth and licked off the chocolate.

Elizabeth jerked her hand back, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"You ate the last junior mint so I didn't think you would mind sharing." Will had a wolfish grin on his face as he kissed her hand.

"What am I going to do with you?" Elizabeth pulled her fingers back as she glanced at him through her eyelashes.

"I have a few ideas." Will lifted his eyebrows and had a smirk on his face.

"You wish." Elizabeth rolled her eyes at him as she turned back to watch the movie.

"I never said I didn't." Will answered under his breath and Elizabeth's head turned toward him as she searched his face before she turned back to the screen.

Will's hand reached out to search for the popcorn and found Elizabeth's thigh instead. He moved his hand slowly across her leg until Elizabeth grabbed his fingers and bent them backward, "What do you think you're doing?"

"I was just wanted some popcorn." Will said with a playful smile.

"Likely story," Elizabeth shook her head, "But if you do, Georgie has the popcorn." Georgie held up the bowl to hand to him.

Will scooped out a handful of popcorn with a smile, "You can't blame a guy for trying."

Elizabeth balled her hand into a fist and hit Will on the shoulder without even looking at him. "Oh yes I can."

The movie marathon wore on and it was early in the morning when Elizabeth drifted off to sleep as she snuggled against Will's shoulder.

Will gently slid Elizabeth down onto the pillow and turned her into his arms. He held her close to his body as he drifted off to sleep contentedly.

Georgie looked over and saw Elizabeth and Will had fallen asleep so she turned off the movie and returned to her bedroom to go to sleep with a smile on her face.

When Will woke in the morning, he was completely comfortable and it took him a minute before he realized that Elizabeth was in his bed and asleep in his arms. Not only that but one of her legs was hitched over his hip.

Will pulled Elizabeth farther into his arms and moved against her with a groan. He became fully awake when he realized that he had become aroused during the night and that his erection was pressed against Elizabeth's leg.

He tried to move away from Elizabeth but his movement woke her up and Elizabeth sat upright as she got an inclination of the circumstances.

"Will Darcy." Elizabeth pushed against his chest, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Will tried to calm her down, "Elizabeth, it just happened." He looked into her eyes, "I would never do anything to disrespect you."

"There was a moment last night that I thought…" Elizabeth stammered, "I thought we could actually be friends."

"Elizabeth, we were sleeping together and my body just reacted to your closeness." Will tried to explain, "I wasn't trying to take advantage of you." He tried to show her his sincerity, "Please believe me I would never do anything to hurt you."

Elizabeth's eyes softened and she started to laugh, "I guess that could have happened to anyone."

Will took a deep breath and sighed in relief, "No with my luck this could have only happened to me."

Georgie walked in as they leaned against each other laughing, "What is so funny?"

Elizabeth gulped back the laughter to explain, "Your brother was a little excited when he woke up this morning."

Georgie looked from one to the other and shook her head, "Ugh that is too much information." Georgie shook her head to dispel the image, "I really didn't want to know that about my brother."

"Well you can just leave then." Will said with a smile.

Georgie said with a giggle, "I'll leave but I'm taking her with me." She grabbed Elizabeth's hand and led her from the room.

Will didn't want Elizabeth to leave yet so he thought quickly, "Why don't I take you somewhere fun today."

"That sounds great." Georgie said, "What do you think, Lizzie?"

"I can't I have plans for today." Elizabeth answered.

Will's eyes clouded over as he took a step back, "We'll do it some other time then."

"We'll see." Elizabeth said distractedly, "I've got to get dressed so I can get home."

After she had taken a shower and gotten dressed, Will watched with disappointment as Elizabeth walked out the front door. _I have to find some way of opening her eyes and getting her to see that she wants to be with me as much as I want to be with her._

**_For those of you who are (like me) addicted and obsessed with fan fiction there is a place on facebook just for you. Go search for _**

FanFicAholics Anon- Where Obsession Never Sleeps!

Hope to see you there.

Tina Marie


	7. Chapter 7

When Will arrived at school on Monday, he found Elizabeth at her locker so he came up behind her and leaned his arm against the lockers next to her.

As she turned to find out who was standing behind her, a smile graced her face as she asked, "Darcy what do you think you're doing?"

Will looked at her a wolfish grin, "I was just hoping that you would have some more junior mints."

"No I don't have any on me." Elizabeth answered she turned back to get her books.

Will stopped her when he took her hand and lifted it to kiss her fingers, "Maybe it's just you I'm craving." Will said with a quick lift of his eyebrows.

Elizabeth just shook her head with a roll of her eyes as she pulled her hand from his, "Will Darcy, you are such a tease." She giggled as she looked into his eyes, "Which is a surprise to me because before Halloween, I didn't think you had a sense of humor at all."

"Who said I was teasing you?" Will asked in a soft velvet voice as he pulled her books from her hands, "Let me walk you to class."

"Will," Elizabeth tilted her head to look at him, "You don't have to do that, your class is in the opposite direction."

He saw the gleam in Elizabeth's eyes and joked, "You know that if you don't let me walk you that I'll be waiting for you anyway."

"That's true." Elizabeth was smiling as she started to walk, "I guess I also didn't know you had such stalker tendencies."

"I'm not a stalker," Will chuckled as he gave her a brilliant smile, "I just worship the ground you walk on."

Elizabeth glanced sideways at Will, "Who would have known, you are a silver tongued devil." Will stopped walking as Elizabeth looked up at him through her eyelashes, "_Devil_ being the operative word."

Will looked down at her with amusement, "You know you should be a little nicer to me," She arched her eyebrows defiantly, "because I have your books and I'm not sure that I want to give them back now."

"Give me my books, Will Darcy." Elizabeth lowered her voice as she threatened, "Because if you don't I can and will hurt you."

Will's laugh was instantaneous as he winked at her, "We can talk about that later." He handed her the books as they arrived at her classroom, "But since you asked so nicely you can have these back."

Elizabeth blushed profusely as she snatched her books from his hand and walked into her classroom.

The following weeks showed a great shift in Will's relationship with Elizabeth. They joked and laughed with each other and there was a friendly chemistry that was obvious to the rest of the school. There was school wide speculation as to when the two would become a couple.

Will knew that friendship with Elizabeth wasn't exactly what he was hoping for but he was glad that she didn't seem to hate him anymore. He was also happy to see that Elizabeth didn't hang out with Wickham as much as before and when she did talk to him there was no physical contact and Will couldn't help but be thrilled at the end of their romance.

* * *

To Will's horror, Rick decided to throw a party a few weeks into November and Will tried talk him out of it with little success. Will had finally relented when he found that Elizabeth had agreed to come.

Will was adamant and refused to allow Georgie to attend the party and she took the news with her usual good grace, "That's okay, Will." Georgie sighed, "I don't do that well in large groups anyway."

Georgie looked a little sad and Will said quietly, "Why don't you invite a friend to stay the night with you."

"That's a great idea." Georgie said excitedly, "I'll call Elizabeth and ask her to stay after the party."

Will couldn't have been happier about Georgie's choice and he found himself looking forward to the party as he anticipated some time alone with Elizabeth.

* * *

The night of the party arrived quickly and Will found himself standing in the midst of a group of strangers searching the crowd for Elizabeth. It was late when he finally spotted her and he threaded his way through the mass of students to reach her.

As he was moving through the horde, Will saw Wickham approach Elizabeth and watched as he handed her a bottle of beer that he was carrying.

_No! _Will's mind screamed at him as he pushed his way past the rest of the people who stood between him and Elizabeth. Wickham slid his free arm around Elizabeth's waist as he whispered something in her ear. Elizabeth turned red and made some sort of retort that Will couldn't hear as she slipped gracefully out his grasp and slapped his hand away lightly.

By the time Will got to Elizabeth, Wickham had disappeared into the crowd, "You don't want to drink that." Will said vehemently as he took the beer bottle out of her hands.

Elizabeth looked shocked and the shock gave way quickly to fury, "Will Darcy, you have no right to tell me what to do." She said as she shoved him back and moved past him and Will just stood there in open-mouthed surprise as he watched her go.

He stood in the middle of the crowded room, unaware for a moment of anyone else while he was caught up in his thoughts and he sighed. _It'll be okay. She just doesn't know what sort of things Wickham is capable of so she doesn't realize that I'm just trying to protect her._

Rick found him in the middle of the room a few minutes later and made his way to his cousin, "Will, what the hell did you do to Elizabeth?"

Will looked down at his hand, "Just took a beer away from her that Wickham had given to her."

"Well she is pissed off." Rick said with a chuckle, "She ran past me muttering that you couldn't tell her what to do and that she would show you."

"Damn." Will swore as he handed Rick the beer he held, "Can you take this upstairs?"

"Sure." Rick agreed quickly, "But why?"

"I'll tell you later." Will shouted over his shoulder, "Right now I have to find Elizabeth and stop her from doing anything stupid."

Will didn't hear Rick's reply as he made his way through the mob of teenagers. When he finally found Elizabeth she was in the kitchen and she filled a red plastic cup with beer from the keg. She saw him coming towards her and chugged the beer quickly. She wobbled a bit unsteadily on her feet and he caught her as she swayed.

"How many of these have you had?" Will demanded.

"Don't remember," Elizabeth slurred as she held up one hand and spread her fingers, "Maybe this many."

"Let's get you some fresh air." Will said as he moved her toward the kitchen door.

When he closed the door behind them, Will breathed a sigh of relief that he had finally gotten out of the noisy house.

Elizabeth swayed against him to the sound of music that drifted from the house, "Dance with me, Will." She said as she moved her hips in time to the music.

Gratefully, he pulled her into his arms and moved against her slowly as she slid her arms around his neck, "I've missed this." She said as she pulled his face down toward her, he resisted only momentarily before he gave in to the urge to kiss her.

It had been a while since he had felt her lips against his and as he deepened the kiss he heard a soft moan escape her lips.

It felt good when she ran her fingers through his hair as she pulled him closer and returned his kiss. She tasted like beer and as Will remembered how much she had to drink. He pulled back from her slightly, "Elizabeth, we can't do this here right now."

She looked up at him with those pouty lips, "Don't be such a party pooper." She giggled as she took his hand and led him back into the house. A fast paced dance song was playing and Elizabeth tugged harder at his hand, "I love this song so come dance with me, Will Darcy."

She led him onto to the makeshift dance floor amongst the other dancing couples and as Will moved slightly to the beat he couldn't take his eyes off Elizabeth while she danced with seductive rhythm to the music as she gyrated her hips against him. Elizabeth twirled and danced with Will for what seemed to be hours until she was out of breath and ready to collapse.

Will took advantage when a ballad played and pulled Elizabeth into his arms as he moved slowly across the dance floor. He ran his fingers through the tendrils of her silky hair as he took in the flowery fragrance.

When the song had ended, he pulled back from Elizabeth slightly and saw that her eyes were closed. He whispered against her ear, "Let's get you upstairs and into bed."

Elizabeth murmured something unintelligible and collapsed against Will's chest. Seeing no other option, Will swept her up into his arms and carried her to the stairs.

He noticed people whispering and pointing while he walked upstairs with Elizabeth snuggled against his chest.

He walked her down to Georgie's room and found that his sister was asleep already. Not wanting to disturb Georgie, he took Elizabeth to his room and laid her on the bed. As he moved to extricate himself from her, she fought to pull him closer and said, "Don't leave me."

After that he couldn't have left her even if he had wanted to. He slid into bed next to her as she laid her head on his chest and threw one arm around him.

He fell asleep to the sound of her heart but was woken later when he heard Elizabeth crying. "Elizabeth," His voice was soft, "Are you okay?"

"I don't feel well." Her voice came from beside him, "I think I'm going to be sick."

Will picked her up quickly and carried her to the bathroom. He held her hair and rubbed her back in a comforting way as she threw up in the toilet.

After she stopped retching, he grabbed a washcloth, cleaned her up and got her back to bed. Will retrieved her bag from Georgie's room and helped Elizabeth to change out of her soiled clothes. He took a clean damp cool washcloth and placed it on her forehead, made she sure took a few aspirin and drank some water.

Will got changed quickly before climbing back into bed with Elizabeth. She snuggled against him as he wrapped her up in his arms. He watched as Elizabeth fell asleep before he allowed his eyes to close.

When he opened his eyes there was bright sunlight streaming into the room and he saw Elizabeth sitting up glaring down at him.

Her voice was angry, "Will Darcy, why is it that every time I spend the night here, I wake up in your bed?"

He just grinned up at her, "It could be because you got drunk and I had to put you to bed." He shaded his eyes against the light, "When I tried to leave, you begged me not to leave you."

"Oh god." Elizabeth cried as she grabbed a pillow and put it over her eyes as the memories flooded into her mind from the night before, "What did we do?" She groaned, "You didn't really take care of me when I got sick, did you?"

"I did." Will smiled as he enjoyed her predicament.

Elizabeth slumped forward until her head was laying on her lap, "Please tell me you didn't help me get changed."

Will raised his eyebrows with a wolfish grin, "Yes, but I didn't see anything," He put his hand over his eyes and opened his fingers, "I promise, I keep my eyes covered the whole time."

"You didn't really carry me upstairs in front of the whole school?"

"Well, I don't know if it was the whole school." Will qualified as he touched his fingers as though counting.

"This is a disaster," Elizabeth pouted, "I'm never going to live this down."

"That's probably true." Will agreed a little too sympathetically.

There was a loud knock on the door before Georgie burst into the room, "What the hell happened here last night?" Georgie demanded.

"Watch your mouth." Will chastised her automatically, "You know Mom and Dad didn't approve of that kind of language."

"Will, I'm serious." Georgie rushed on, "I got an e-mail from Patty with a picture of you carrying Elizabeth upstairs. Everyone's talking about how you two slept together."

"Well, we did." Will grinned as he waved his hand over the bed.

"Will, this is not a joking matter." Georgie stomped her foot in frustration, "I want you to tell me what happened here last night."

Elizabeth groaned as she looked up at Georgie, "I'm never going to live this down."

Will looked from Elizabeth to his sister, "You two are taking this too seriously." Will laughed, "Nothing happened except that I took care of Elizabeth when she was drunk."

"Well that's not all of it." Georgie insisted, "Everyone is talking about how you guys spent the whole party with each and are now together as a couple."

"Shit." Elizabeth said angrily, "That's not true," She turned to Will for his help, "We have to let everyone know that we are not now and never have been a couple."

Will thought for a minute as he came up with a plan, "Elizabeth, I think we should let them think that we are a couple." Elizabeth glared at him and opened her mouth to speak before Will raised his hand, "Please let me explain." He took a deep breath, "If we categorically deny that something happened between us then people will keep speculating and we'll be the center of a lot of gossip forever." Will looked Elizabeth in the eyes, "If we pretend to be a couple for the few weeks or months, then we can break up and we'll quickly become yesterday's news because there would be no story."

Elizabeth began to protest when Georgie stopped her, "I think Will is right, if you just let the school know that you are a couple, the gossip with blow over pretty fast." She rolled her eyes, "But give our school a good scandal and they won't ever stop talking about it."

Elizabeth sighed in defeat, "Okay." She poked Will in the chest, "But as soon as the talk about us dies down, we will have a quiet break up. You got it?"

"No problem." Will agreed with a silly grin on his face, "So as a newly minted couple, what are we going to do today?"

"I'm not spending the day with you." Elizabeth protested.

"What will people think if we're not seen in public?" Will said innocently, "They'll just think that we spent the entire day in bed ravishing each other."

"Georgie, I really hate your brother." Elizabeth narrowed her eyes when she looked at Will and shook her head in exasperation.

Will lifted her up and sat her on his lap, "You love me and you know it." He said with a wink and a grin at his sister.

Elizabeth stuck her tongue out at him childishly and he laughed as he whispered, "I know something better to do with that tongue of yours." His lips descended on hers as if to prove his point, with a sigh, Elizabeth returned his kiss and her lips parted to give him entrance.

"This is where I say goodbye." Georgie muttered as she left the room.

The other two didn't notice her departure as Will explored Elizabeth's mouth with his tongue. His hands moved upward from her waist as found her firm round breasts.

His kiss became more insistent as he felt desire spread through his body. Elizabeth responded with equal ardor as her tongue caressed his mouth.

With a groan, Will reluctantly broke free of her lips, "Elizabeth, we have to stop before the rumors become true."

Elizabeth looked like someone had thrown cold water in her face, "You arrogant bastard," She fumed as she tried to pull back from him. "as though I would fall into bed with you just like that."

He flicked his eyes up and down as he grinned at her, "I would say that you've already fallen into bed with me."

"You know that's not what I meant." Elizabeth protested as jumped out of the bed, "I'm not interested in you that way."

Will shook his head slightly in annoyance as he said through gritted teeth, "Are you trying to convince yourself or me."

"You are really an ass, you know that Darcy." Elizabeth glared at him.

"So you've told me." Will smiled, "and you would never lie to me."

Elizabeth couldn't help but smile at his words and she punched him on the shoulder, "I'm going to find Georgie and get changed."

Will leered up at her, "I like what you're wearing and I always have."

Elizabeth turned and called over her shoulder, "and with that I'm out of here."

Will chuckled to himself and fell back down on the bed with a contented sigh; _Elizabeth agreed to be my girlfriend. _An inner voice reminded him that it was just pretend.

A little while later, Will went to take a shower and as he reached for the door, it opened and revealed Elizabeth with a towel wrapped around her. Will took in her appearance hungrily as he longed to pull her into his arms.

As his gaze settled on Elizabeth's face, he found she had a smile on her face, "Have you seen something that you like Darcy?"

Will didn't hesitate to answer, "Well yes."

Elizabeth laughed as she moved down the hall to Georgie's room, "Guys are so easy."

After he had showered and dressed, Will remembered that he needed to talk to Rick about something and went to find him.

He found Rick in the gym and asked, "Rick, where did you put that bottle of beer I gave you last night?"

Rick looked up a Will and said, "It's upstairs in my room." A crease formed between Rick's eyebrows as he asked, "What are you going to do with it?"

"Wickham gave it to Elizabeth and if he stayed true to form, he would have drugged the beer before he handed it to her." Will looked at his cousin, "I have a lab that I worked with last summer, they will test it and find out for sure if he slipped something into her beer." Will closed his eyes, "We were never able to prove that he drugged Georgie but I'm positive he did and this will be my opportunity to make sure that that low-life bastard gets what he deserves."

"He'd better." Rick seconded, "After what he did to Georgie he deserves some of the misery that he subjects others to."

Will nodded emotionally as he left the room and as he went through to the kitchen he found Georgie and Elizabeth eating breakfast.

Will got some cereal and when he looked up he smiled at Elizabeth, "I think it would be a good idea if we go out together today so that we can put a stop to the gossip about us."

Elizabeth frowned and sighed, "I guess."

"We could go to the mall and do some shopping." Georgie got her suggestion in quickly.

Will narrowed his eyes and looked at his sister, "I think Elizabeth and I should go somewhere alone so that it looks like a date."

"Will," Georgie said patiently, "We always do something together on Saturday." She tilted her head at him, "Besides you'll want to go where a lot of students will be hanging out and that's the mall." She looked up and batted her eyes at Will, "If you go to the mall with my best friend, you wouldn't leave your little sister at home."

"Okay." Will sighed as he agreed reluctantly. He had wanted to take Elizabeth somewhere romantic and where they would be alone but Georgie was right that the more students who saw them together the better.

* * *

When they were at the mall Georgie dragged the other two to every shop imaginable. Will followed with good humor but he made sure that he kept a hold of Elizabeth's hand the whole time. At the jewelry store, Elizabeth and Georgie were gushing over the different pieces.

He heard Elizabeth say, "I've never seen anything so gorgeous before."

"Elizabeth why don't you try on that one," Georgie said pointing to a ring, "It would look beautiful on you."

"No, Georgie, I won't do that." Elizabeth said as she shook her head, "It's an engagement ring."

Georgie just smiled with a shrug as she glanced at Will who had a strange look in his eyes. Georgie sought the meaning behind the look as she stared into her brother's eyes.

Will told her quickly, "I've got to go take care of something, I'll meet you at the food court after I'm finished."

Georgie and Elizabeth found a table and ordered their food before Georgie went to find out what Will was doing so secretively.

When Georgie caught up with Will, he had just walked out of the jewelry store and she watched him as he tucked something into his pocket.

When he looked at her, Georgie hissed at him, "You did not buy Elizabeth that engagement ring."

Will looked down at his feet slightly embarrassed, "She loved it and I wanted to make sure that she gets exactly what she wants."

"Will, you two are still in school." Georgie protested, "There's no way that she's going to agree to marry you."

"Georgie," Will tried to explain, "I'm not going to ask until after we graduate."

"Then why did you get the ring now?" Georgie asked.

"The ring might not still be available in June," Will responded stubbornly, "I just wanted to make sure that she loves the ring I give her."

Georgie gave Will a hug, "You are a little out there but you've got a good heart and I love you."

When Georgie stepped back, she led him to their table and he whispered, "You can't say anything about this to anyone."

"I promise that I won't tell anyone." Georgie agreed as she rolled her eyes at him.

Will's eyes lit up when he saw Elizabeth waiting for them at the table. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her and when she turned to face him, he brushed her lips with his. When he pulled his chair up to sit next to her, he noticed how many of their classmates were located at other tables watching them._ I guess Georgie was right about where we should go to get attention._

He wouldn't have cared if no one saw them together but he did have to keep up appearances for Elizabeth.

They spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the stores before they went home and ordered pizza for dinner and watched a movie.

After the movie, Georgie tried to talk Elizabeth into staying the night again but Elizabeth shook her head and refused, "No I can't, I have to at least make an appearance at home."

When she grabbed her bag and walked to the door, she turned around and said, "I'll see you on Monday."

Will walked Elizabeth to her car and when she opened the door he asked, "Can I see you tomorrow?"

Elizabeth shook her head, "I have to do my homework and study tomorrow but I'll see you at school, Monday." She glanced at him through her lashes, "Besides, you have to remember why were doing this." She laughed, "It's not like we're really dating or anything."

Will hated the reminder of why Elizabeth thought they were doing this. It might have been pretend for her but it was very real for him. He leaned down and kissed her lightly before he made his way back to the house. _Someday our relationship will mean the same to her as it does to me._

When Will walked back into the house Georgie was waiting for him, "Will, I need to talk to you."

Will looked at her with a wary expression, "Go ahead; tell me what you need to say."

Georgie looked self-consciously down at her feet, "I need to talk to you about the engagement ring that you bought for Elizabeth."

Her brother gave her an impatient look, "Georgie, just spit it out."

"What if she doesn't accept your proposal?" Her voice was low, "What are you going to do with that very expensive ring that you just bought for Elizabeth." Georgie fidgeted nervously, "Are you going to give it the woman that you eventually marry?"

"No, besides if Elizabeth doesn't accept me, I don't know if I will ever get married." Will voice was harsh, "This is Elizabeth's ring whether she agrees to marry me or not."

"But it's an engagement ring." Georgie protested.

Will had a pained expression on his face, "It's hers anyway so she can have it turned into something else for all I care." His eyes softened with emotion as he spoke, "I just want her to have it."

Georgie threw her arms around her brother in a tight embrace, "Will, you really love her don't you?"

"Yes," Will admitted softly, "With all my heart."

Georgie stepped back from him, "You'd better put that in the safe until you're ready to use it."

Will shook his head, "I just want to keep it close to me for now." His eyes clouded over, "Something of hers."

"Whatever you want," Georgie giggled, "Oh crazy brother of mine."

"Not crazy," Will smiled at his sister with affection, "Just in love."

Georgie said as she turned to go, "I hope everything works out for the two of you because you are really good together."

"Yes we are." Will agreed as he went to change to go for a swim. _If only I could convince Elizabeth of that._


	8. Chapter 8

First thing on Monday morning, Will dropped the beer bottle that Wickham had given Elizabeth off at the lab and he was told it would take about a week for them to get the results.

Will met Elizabeth at her locker on Monday before he walked her to class. He had spent Sunday doing homework, working out and swimming trying to keep his mind off Elizabeth.

Instead of walking her to class, Will found a quiet out of the way corridor as he tried to get away from the stares and away from the prying eyes of their classmates. He took a deep breath as he tried to work up enough courage and when he had found a secluded spot he asked her nervously, "The Homecoming dance is coming up in two weeks and I was hoping that you would agree to go with me."

Elizabeth smiled mischievously as she looked around to make sure that no one else was listening, "Do I have any choice in the matter?"

Will kissed her lightly on the lips, "No not really." He smirked with enjoyment, "Not if we want to convince the school that we are dating."

"Okay then I'll go with you." Elizabeth agreed with a roll of her eyes as she taunted him, "What girl would turn you down."

Will couldn't resist teasing her back, "You." His voice was soft like velvet, "Only you."

With slow deliberate movements, Will lowered his mouth and pressed his lips to hers. His tongue slid over the softness of hers and dipped into her mouth slowly. Elizabeth moved her body into his as he deepened the kiss with an intense exploration of her mouth. With a soft moan, Elizabeth kissed him back in passionate response.

As Elizabeth swayed against him with a seductive rhythm, Will lifted her off the ground and she wrapped her legs around his waist. The kiss grew to a feverish pitch as they plundered each other's mouths with raw desire. When the kiss finally broke, Will and Elizabeth were both breathing heavily.

Will lowered Elizabeth onto her feet as he stared at her with longing in his eyes, "Wow."

Elizabeth recovered quickly and said, "That's all you have to say," There was sarcasm in her voice but the soft smile that played on her lips lessened the harshness of her words, "That's quite a vocabulary you have, Darcy."

Will gaped at her momentarily as he sought the truth in the depths of her eyes and saw the same desperate desire mirrored in her soul.

Will smiled down at her, "How could I possibly think of anything when you kiss me like that?" He arched his eyebrows, "All coherent thought left my head and I would have been lucky to remember my own name."

Will's eyes twinkled in delight as he saw the blush rise in Elizabeth's cheeks, "That's because all of the blood in your body was re-routed to another part of your anatomy."

Will just smiled at her with a raise of his eyebrow to let her know that he had heard the challenge in her words but that he was going to ignore it for the moment. "I'd better get you to class before we're both late." His voice lowered, "I could think of much better ways to spend our time rather than detention."

Will got Elizabeth to her classroom and raced to his as he made it by the skin of his teeth. His mind couldn't help but think of those private moments they had shared in the corridor.

Will was abruptly dragged out of his thoughts by a kick to his shin by Charlie, "Why are you sitting there with that dreamy grin on your face?"

"Elizabeth." Will sighed the name with reverence.

"I should have know it was something like that." Charlie said with a groan, "But you'd better start concentrating on the class otherwise the teacher will notice."

Will was waiting for Elizabeth at their normal table for lunch when Wickham and his friends strolled up to him.

"So you and Elizabeth are together now, "Wickham snarled, "Well good luck getting into her pants." He flashed a grin over his shoulder at his friends, "I tried for a while but her legs are welded together so tight that nothing can penetrate her defenses." He snickered at his own words, "Though word around the school is that you already tapped that," Wickham nudged his friend in the ribs with his elbow, "But I know you too well to ever believe that. You couldn't get it up even when you had a sure thing like your last girlfriend and believe me when I say she was easy."

"Get away from me, Wickham," Will growled, "Before I kill your sorry ass."

A group had crowded around Darcy and Wickham as they anticipated some sort of fight. Everyone knew that Wickham had been seeing Elizabeth and figured that this would be coming sooner or later.

Charlie and Jane approached the table and Wickham backed off as he said with a laugh, "I'll go for now but this isn't over."

"What was that all about?" Jane asked, "It looked as though you wanted to kill him."

"It was just Wickham being Wickham." Will muttered moodily before he saw Elizabeth as she approached the table and his bad mood evaporated. He indicated the place next to him and she sat down beside him.

"You look so serious," Elizabeth said as he slipped his arm around her, "What is going on?"

"Nothing important." Will said before he pulled her close and captured her lips for kiss that was tinged with desperation.

* * *

During the week, Elizabeth and Will established a routine and Will would meet her at her locker and walk her to class. They would have lunch together and were always affectionate with each other. Pretty soon just as Will had predicted, nobody even paid any attention to the couple.

On Friday when Will got to Elizabeth's locker, he was pissed off to find that Billy Collins was there talking to Elizabeth and he could hear him ask in a loud nasally voice, "Elizabeth Bennet, I would formally like to ask you to the Homecoming dance."

"Billy," He heard Elizabeth answer, "I'm already going with my boyfriend, Will Darcy."

Will's heart soared as he heard her call him her boyfriend and he walked up behind her and slid his arms around her waist as he nuzzled her neck.

The look on Billy's face was priceless as he watched Elizabeth turn around and lift onto her tiptoes to kiss Will, "Good morning." She said softly when she removed her lips from his.

"Good morning to you, my love." Will said as he glanced surreptitiously glanced down at Billy.

The other boy looked crestfallen as he said, "Okay, well I'll see you later, Elizabeth." He turned around and shuffled away.

Will laughed, "Did he really think that he had a chance in hell of taking you to the dance."

Elizabeth looked at him sternly, "Don't be so mean, you don't have to find this so funny."

"It's not like you would have gone with him anyway." Will countered with a grin.

"No" Elizabeth admitted with a sigh, "But I just wanted to let him down easily. There's no need to be mean."

"That guy does not take hints very well so you had better shut him down without a doubt." Will said in a mocking voice, "Otherwise he will be your shadow for the rest of your life."

Elizabeth arched her eyebrows, "You might be right but I hate to be so mean and hurt his feelings."

Will laughed, "You've never been worried about being mean to me or hurting my feelings."

"Darcy, you are impossible." Elizabeth said as he caught her hand and walked her to class.

"I'm taking you to dinner tonight." Will said suddenly, "I'll pick you up at 7:00, okay."

"Okay." Elizabeth agreed.

* * *

Will didn't know why he felt nervous as he stood on Elizabeth's front porch. He hesitated ringing the doorbell for a minute as he remembered the last time he had come to pick Elizabeth up for a date and that had turned out horrible.

Elizabeth answered when he rang the doorbell and Will's heart sped up at her appearance. She wore a royal blue dress that emphasized her figure because of its classic simplicity. _She looks so beautiful and there's a warmth and generosity of character that radiates from inside her._

"You look beautiful." Will said as he took her tiny hand in his large ones before he kissed her on the cheek.

"You clean up fairly well yourself." Elizabeth giggled as she perused his appearance. He had on a shirt and tie with his dark slacks.

"Are you ready to go?" Will asked as he put his arm around her shoulders.

"Yes." Elizabeth said as she moved across the threshold of the door and walked with Will to his car. He opened the door for her and once she was seated he got into the driver's seat and started the car.

The restaurant that Will had picked was small and romantic with a small dance floor. The hostess showed them to their table and Will noticed all of the men who stared at his date and he had to work to keep his temper in check. He held her seat for her and removed her jacket.

As they waited for their meal to be served they just talked about nothing in particular but talked about school, teachers, classes and they talked about the song that she and Georgie would be performing next week in front of the music class.

"Are you nervous?" Will asked as he looked into Elizabeth's eyes.

"No." She smiled, "You've trained us well so that I know that song by heart."

Will's eyes showed his pleasure at her compliment of his teaching skills, "I'm just glad that you're prepared."

The music had started so Will stood and held out his hand, "Do you want to dance?"

"I'd love to." Elizabeth said with a smile and the couple took to the dance floor.

Will watched as Elizabeth bit her lip and she kept looking down with nervous energy. He waited patiently until she looked up at him. He wondered why she would be so nervous and hope flared in his chest as one thought kept running through his head. _If you love me just tell me so._

Elizabeth finally spoke, "Is it true that you had an altercation with Georgie Wickham at lunch on Monday?"

Will's hopes were dashed and he felt as though someone had thrown cold water on him, "I spoke to him before you met me for lunch." He tilted his head as he looked at her, "Why do you want to know?"

"I heard about the incident at school," Elizabeth admitted, "I just wanted you to know that there is no need for you to protect me or to defend my honor." Elizabeth just chattered nervously, "I know that we are supposed to be dating but I can take care of myself and I can take care of George by myself."

Will had to bite his tongue, not wanting to ruin their evening by asking her what she ever saw in Wickham.

"Elizabeth," Will said patiently as he stared into her eyes, "I would never stand for him talking about any girl the way he did about you." Will sighed, "He said that he knew we were together and then he made some crude comments that I couldn't let him get away with."

Elizabeth didn't say anything right away but he saw a fire flare in her eyes and wondered what that was about. "Darcy," Elizabeth said as she gritted her teeth, "I can fight my own battles."

Will started to say something but saw the determination in Elizabeth's eyes and decided to change the subject.

"Are you going to stay at the house tonight with Georgie?" Will asked and he fervently hoped that she was.

"No." Elizabeth smiled, "I do need to spend some time at home.

"I was planning on taking Georgie hiking tomorrow." Will said as he touched her cheek, "Would you like to join us?"

Elizabeth's laugh was a joyful sound to Will, "You know me too well, Darcy." She tilted her head back to look at him, "so you know very well that I wouldn't miss an opportunity to go hiking at this time of the year."

After dinner, Will drove Elizabeth home and walked her to the door. She leaned against the door with her hand on the knob as she looked with her twinkling eyes up into his face.

Will reached around with one arm and drew her to him as his lips found the hollow of her neck. She arched her body against him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She ran her fingers through his hair and tugged him nearer to her. A soft groan escaped form Will's lips as his mouth crushed against hers in demanding kiss.

One hand found the curve of her bottom and he pulled her to him. After a few minutes, Will moved reluctantly away from Elizabeth with a sigh and an intake of breath. "Wow."

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Elizabeth sighed as she laid her head against his chest.

He didn't know how long they stayed in their embrace but he finally sighed as he pulled away from her and watched until she went through the front door.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Will called to her.

"I'll see you." Elizabeth said as she closed the door.

* * *

When he got home, Will went directly to the music room and sat down at the piano where he started working on a song that had been playing in his mind since dinner tonight.

He had been there for a half hour when Georgie came in and she peeked over his shoulder to see what he was working on.

She sang to the words and music he had written

_If you love me, tell me so  
__If you need me, let me know  
__If our love has passed the test  
__It's time to enjoy the rest._

"What is this?" Georgie asked.

Will shrugged as he answered, "I've just got the chorus so far." He said, "I've still got to work out the rest."

"So you wrote a song for Elizabeth." Georgie smiled with a lift of her eyebrows.

"What makes you think that?" Will asked as he tried to avoid looking directly at his sister.

"It's pretty obvious." Georgie giggled, "I mean, in the first line you're asking someone to tell you that they love you. I would have to be oblivious not to know how much you want Elizabeth to say those words to you."

Will laughed, "I guess it was probably pretty obvious." He admitted, "That line was just something that I thought at dinner and I haven't been able to get it out of head since."

Georgie put her arms around his shoulder, "I'm sure she'll love it."

As she turned to leave, Will remembered something he had to tell her, "We're going hiking with Elizabeth tomorrow."

Georgie stopped and turned back to look at her brother, "That's news to me."

Will squirmed a little under her gaze, "I just thought it would be a nice way to spend the day."

"I agree." Georgie said with a giggle, "It's a nice way for you and Elizabeth to spend the day but I'm sure I will be coming down sick sometime during the night."

Will just grinned as he shook his head and he was sure that Georgie would find an excuse not to come with them tomorrow. He wasn't the least bit sorry and thought that a romp through the woods all alone with Elizabeth would be a great way to spend the day.

* * *

_**A/N: Once again a chapter did not go exactly as I planned. :) Who would have ever thought that was possible. I have a question for my readers and it is this: Do you want me to write the hiking scene? I had always intended just to get to the next week and go on with the story but I thought that the hike might be fun and am debating with myself as to whether write that scene. So what do you think? Let me know.**_

**_Thanks_**

**_Tina Marie_**


	9. Chapter 9

Will worked for a few more hours on the song he was writing for Elizabeth. To get to the lyrics right, he thought about what he wanted from Elizabeth as well as what he was hoping for and the first few lines reflected that. He began to think about their date for the next day and with a hopeful heart he added the last line to come up with the ending to the first verse. He knew it was odd but he felt that the chorus should come first so he played and sang what he had so far.

_If you love me, tell me so  
__If you need me, let me know  
__If our love has passed the test  
__It's time to enjoy the rest._

_Our life together starts now  
__Missin' is the when, where and how  
__No more games to play  
__From here dawns a bright new day_

Georgie came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him with a smile on her face, "I love it so far. I have missed hearing you sing so much." She released him and clapped her hands together as she hopped on the balls of her feet. "I have a great idea." She winked at her brother, "If you get this done soon, you and Elizabeth could sing this as a duet for our next class project."

"Georgie, you're forgetting that I'm not even in your class." He brightened at a passing thought, "Elizabeth could sing it though; I would like that."

"Will," Georgie tilted her head to look at her brother, "If you were to ask to be added to our music class the teacher would jump t the chance." She laughed, "You are a music prodigy you know."

Will laughed as he looked at his sister, "Thank you for your support but I'll have to think about that."

When Will woke up on Saturday morning, he smiled at the thought of spending the day with Elizabeth. He was taking Elizabeth to his favorite hiking spot. His family had a summer cabin in the woods between Forestville and Guerneville in Sonoma County. He felt a twinge of sorrow for just a moment when he remembered that the last time he had been there was when his parents had been alive.

He shook his head to clear the cobwebs of the past and focused on the future that he wanted with Elizabeth. She was going to love the hike they were going to take. His parents had left him a little under 300 acres and it was all woods, trails and the cabin. In Will's mind it was one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

He checked his watch as he packed their lunch. There were food staple supplies at the cabin but he wanted to make sure to pack a fresh lunch. He couldn't wait to show Elizabeth his favorite places and views from the property.

Will woke up Georgie just to make sure that she hadn't changed her mind about going with them.

"Will Darcy, get out of my room and let me get back to sleep." Georgie groaned and turned over and buried her face in her pillow. "Tell Elizabeth I'm having horrific cramps, she will understand."

Will winced at her words and exited the room before shutting the door behind him. He grabbed his backpack with their lunch and a few other necessities and walked out of the front door whistling.

When he picked Elizabeth up she was dressed for hiking in her sweater, jeans and hiking boots. She brought a heavy jacket just in case the day turned out to be wet.

Will also had brought a jacket and he put all of that into his backpack along with their lunch.

The drive took a couple of hours and they listened to the radio as they talked. When they arrived at the Darcy property, Will helped Elizabeth out of the car and took her hand as he directed her up the nearest path.

Will had kept their destination a secret and Elizabeth turned to him and asked, "Are you going to finally tell me what this place is?" Will just chuckled at her impatience, "I thought we would be going hiking in some kind of state park with paved paths and clearly defined directions."

Will smiled as he explained, "My family has a cabin at the top of the property and I thought you would love the untamed wilderness." Will wrapped his arm through hers, "I could have sworn that adventure was your middle name."

Elizabeth smiled up into his sparkling eyes, "I didn't say that I didn't like the location," Elizabeth countered, "I was just surprised that's all."

They hiked for a few hours alternating between companionable silence and lively discussions. Will diverted Elizabeth a few times away from the roughly worn paths to take her on small detours to some of his favorite views.

As he watched Elizabeth's face as she looked down into the canyon with an awed expression Will couldn't resist moving up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled his face into the back of her neck as he swept her dark hair off her shoulders. Will gazed into the canyon and saw that the wilderness seemed to go on forever. He had seen this view many times over the years but he never took it for granted.

"It's beautiful." Elizabeth breathed.

"It is quite nice," Will agreed, "But not as beautiful as you."

Elizabeth turned around and looked up at him, "Will, there's no reason to exaggerate," She said with a self deprecating smile, "We both know that you don't think I'm beautiful."

Will just stared at her with disbelief, "Are you kidding me. You can't still believe that I find you unattractive." He dipped his head to kiss her, "I was sure that I had shown you just how attractive I find you."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "Just because you find me attractive doesn't make me beautiful."

"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever known." Will said as he ran his fingers lightly across the side of her cheek.

"How far are we from the cabin?" Elizabeth changed the subject, "I'm getting a little hungry."

"It's just over the next ridge." Will said as they started up the hill once again. As they were getting close to the top, the heavens opened up and rain poured down on them soaking them to the skin. They raced up the hill and at the top of the ridge found the shelter of the Darcy family cabin.

Will indicated for her to enter the sheltered wraparound porch. Will found the keys and opened the door.

As they shed their wet jackets, Will went to the fire and started it with practiced ease. "It'll warm up in a little while." He saw that Elizabeth's clothes were wet, "You'd probably better get out of those wet clothes before you get sick. We can dry them by the fire so that they'll be dry by the time the rain stops."

Elizabeth's eyes widened and she tilted her head to look at him, "You don't really think that I'm going to get undressed in this cabin alone with you, do you?"

A spontaneous laugh erupted from Will, "I think that my mother used to keep some clothes up here in case of emergencies." Will pulled her to him and he said, "Not that I wouldn't like to have you naked all to myself."

Will reluctantly let Elizabeth go and pointed her toward the direction of his parent's bedroom. Elizabeth found a robe that must have been Will's mother's as well as a couple towels so that she could dry off.

When she returned to the living room, Will had a blazing fire going and he looked up to see Elizabeth in the flimsy robe the enveloped her small frame. He had unpacked their picnic lunch on a rug in front of the fire. He went to get changed and when he came back wearing his father's robe he saw that Elizabeth had hung all of her clothes to dry and she looked a little embarrassed when she caught him looking at her underwear.

Will dropped down to the rug next to Elizabeth and snuggled up against her back, "It is very cozy in here. Now are you warm enough?"

"I'm toasty warm." Elizabeth said with a smile as she relaxed against Will's body.

Will reached around Elizabeth and grabbed one of the sandwiches he had made for their trip. Elizabeth followed his example and they ate lunch comfortably with each other.

After lunch, Elizabeth went out onto the porch and was amazed at the view she had missed when they had arrived. The cabin was situated on the top of a long valley and from where Elizabeth stood she could see all the way down to the river far below.

"It's spectacular isn't it?" Will asked as he came to stand next to her.

"Yes." Elizabeth agreed a little breathlessly.

"That's why my parents build in this isolated location." Will told her, "When Mom and Dad saw this view they knew they had to build here." He was lost in thought, "Dad bought a 4-wheel drive jeep so that we could drive up here but when my parents died, my aunt, who was the executrix of their estate sold it."

Elizabeth could hear the emotion in Will's voice and she took his hand, "You miss your parents a lot, I understand."

"I don't even know how to articulate how much I wish they were here." Will said as his eyes brightened with emotion, "They would have loved you, you know."

"I'm nothing special," Elizabeth demurred, "Just a small town girl with no special talents."

Will turned to face her and said forcefully, "You are so much more than that and I lo…" Will caught himself before he said that he loved her and he finished lamely, "They would have known how special you are."

Elizabeth reached out to him and he molded her body to his as he slid his arms down to her lower back. They just stood that way for a while until they each got their emotions under control.

When Will finally released her, Elizabeth felt a great sense of loss as he gestured to her to reenter the cabin.

Will found some old board games in the closet and they spent the rest of the afternoon, playing Clue, Sorry and Backgammon.

The darkness fell and the rain showed no signs of letting up anytime soon.

"You probably should call your parents and let them know that we are going to have to stay the night." Will told her.

"I would," Elizabeth said, "But my cell phone is not getting any bars so I can't call out."

Will laughed, "Oh, I thought you knew," Will waved at the kitchen, "We have a landline so you can make your call."

Elizabeth called her parents and Will called Georgie before they searched the can goods in the kitchen for something to eat. Will found some tomato soup and pulled out a pan to heat up the soup.

Will lit the kerosene lamps and found an old radio. They listened to music for a while until Will was able to find a radio station that played one of the old time radio broadcasts of a mystery theatre show.

Will called the national weather service and found out that the storm was going to break sometime the next morning.

Will and Elizabeth brought in enough wood to last the night and made a makeshift bed in front of the fire.

Will watched Elizabeth through the flickering light of the fire and he was even more mesmerized than normal. His eyes wandered down her body as his thoughts took on an intimate tone._ She's naked under that robe and all I would need to do is untie the belt around her waist just a little, let it fall and I would be able to drink in the beauty of her perfect naked form. _His hand reached for the tie that held the robe in place, _and all her glorious nakedness would be just waiting for me to explore. It wouldn't take much to make skin to skin contact with her and…_

"What are you thinking about?" Elizabeth's voice cut through his errant thoughts.

Will jerked his hand back and blushed as he looked into Elizabeth's eyes and he shifted his body so that his arousal would not be so prominent.

"I was just thinking," Will tried to come up with an adequate story, "about how nice it is to have you all to myself with no other distractions."

Seeing that Elizabeth could see through his charade, Will leaned toward her and pressed his lips to hers. Elizabeth opened her mouth to his exploration and kissed him back fiercely. As their tongues fought for dominance, the intensity of the kiss ratcheted up and Will felt the flames of desire scorch his body.

Will lay back onto the rug and pulled Elizabeth with him until she was lying next to him and their bodies were glued together as his hand found her bottom and pulled her to him. Will moved against her while they heated up the night. Once he had secured her to him, his hand wandered and found the hem of the robe and slid his hand up the silky length of her thigh.

When the kiss finally broke they were both breathing heavily and Will could see his own desire reflected in Elizabeth's eyes.

Elizabeth slowly pulled away from him and he felt the desolate loss of her warm body, "We had better get some sleep if we are going to hike out of here in the morning." Elizabeth smiled at Will as she curled up on the rug.

He banked the fire for the night and joined Elizabeth as he spooned against her and wrapped one arm tightly around her body and whispered into her ear, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Will."

The next morning dawned crisp and clear and smelled of rain. He moved his head slightly to kiss the top of Elizabeth's head and saw that they had shifted positions sometime during the night and she was curled into his body snuggly like she had been made especially for him. He feathered kisses along her face and neck until he felt her begin to stir.

When Elizabeth woke up and looked into his eyes, Will murmured, "It's time to get up."

"Mmmm…" Elizabeth said, "I'm too comfortable to move."

Will looked down at her with a wolfish grin, "Well, if that is your choice, I have a much more pleasant way to wake you up." Will's voice was husky with need as he tugged at the tie to her robe.

Suddenly Elizabeth sat straight up and glared down at Will who just smiled with a devilish glint in his eyes, "That was not funny, Will Darcy."

"I never said it was." He countered smoothly as he reached to pull her down to him.

"You said that we need to get up." Elizabeth reminded him.

Will's face was full of triumphant victory, "Well if you insist."

They worked together to put the cabin back in order. Their clothes had dried by the fire and were ready to wear again.

When Elizabeth came out of the bathroom fully dressed and looking beautifully refreshed with her hair brushed and face washed.

After one last look around, Will locked the cabin and they headed back down to the car. The hike was slow because the rain had made the path muddy and slick.

It was noon before they made it back to Will's car and hours later before he dropped Elizabeth off at her house. He walked her to the porch and they just stood looking at each other for a few minutes. Will leaned down and kissed her briefly before they said their goodbyes.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow." Will called over his shoulder.

"See you." Elizabeth replied before she shut the door behind her.

Georgie accosted Will when he got home and he had to tell her all about the trip.

"I'm so glad I decided to sit this one out." Georgie giggled as she winked at her brother, "It gave you and Elizabeth a lot of quality time together." She hesitated briefly before she asked the question she wanted to have answered, "So are you two like a real couple now?"

Will sighed, "It can't get more real than how we spent the last day and a half." His grin was infectious and he ruffled his sister's hair, "So yeah, I would say we are a real couple."

Will left Georgie to finish up his homework that he had neglected all weekend.

It was raining again on Monday and Will had to go by the lab to get the results from the beer bottle that Wickham had handed to Elizabeth at the party.

As he retrieved the bottle and the contents, Will read the results and the lab technician confirmed his suspicions, "We found a large quantity of GHB in the contents and we were able to retrieve a few sets of fingerprints from the bottle." He pointed out the bottom of the report, "Besides you and the girl we found a third set of fingerprints belonging to George Wickham."

"Bastard!" Will spat out the word before he continued, "I knew he had to have spiked the beer with something."

"Your girl is lucky that you stopped her from drinking that beer." The technician said, "This should give you all of the evidence you need to get Wickham out of your life."

"I hope so." Will breathed a deep breath, "For Elizabeth and Georgie's sake, I really hope so."

Will took the evidence he had procured to the principal before class and the man promised to take the steps to insure that Wickham would not harm any more of his students.

Will was quiet when he walked Elizabeth to class and the morning seemed to drag while he waited for the news of what had happened to Wickham.

He met Elizabeth between classes and was horrified to see George Wickham as he walked purposely toward them.

Wickham ignored Will and spoke to Elizabeth, "I think you have the right to know that your asshole boyfriend just got me expelled from school."

"Will," Elizabeth looked at him, "What is he talking about?"

"He couldn't stand the competition so he had me expelled from school so that he could have you all to himself." Wickham said malevolently, "He's always hated me and will do anything to take everything that I love away from me." He shot a spiteful look at Darcy, "That's the only reason he wanted to go out with you in the first place because I wanted you."

"Will, is that true?" Elizabeth asked as she glanced up a Will, "Did you get George expelled from the school because of me?"

Will nervously tried to frame his response without giving away Georgie's secret. He had promised her he would never tell anyone about what happened, "Yes, but…"

Elizabeth cut him off and her voice rose in anger, "Will, I don't even want to hear it. Every time I let myself trust you, you betray me." Her face was full of anguish, "I have to get to class." She stalked off down the hall.

Wickham's face was full of triumph, "I told you not to mess with me, Asshole." Wickham laughed as he left Will standing in the middle of the hall.

By the time Will had regained his composure he was late for class and the teacher gave him detention.

For the rest of the day, Will tried to find Elizabeth to explain but she seemed to be avoiding him. He found Georgie before detention.

"Georgie," Will said quickly, "Could you do me a favor?"

"Sure, anything." His sister agreed.

"Could you go to Elizabeth's house after school and see if you can persuade her to talk to me and let me explain."

"Sure, I'll try." Georgie agreed before she laughed, "But Will I wouldn't worry about it because according to the school gossip, you two will be back together by the homecoming dance on Friday."

Will didn't find that funny, "Georgie I'm being serious; please do this for me."

After school, Georgie knocked on the Bennets door and Jane answered, "I'll get Elizabeth for you," She gestured to the living room, "Why don't you wait in here."

Georgie paced the room waiting for Elizabeth when she spotted the picture on the mantelpiece and gasped. With trembling fingers she took the picture out of the frame and saw the writing on the back that said, _Elizabeth age 5._

She replaced the picture into the frame and slipped the frame into her backpack before Elizabeth walked into the room.

Elizabeth looked unhappy and asked, "Did Will send you here?"

"Yes," Georgie cast her eyes down to the floor, "But he just wants you to listen to what he has to say."

"He didn't have an answer for me this morning," Elizabeth said with a shake of her head, "But I'm supposed to believe some sort of lie that he's had plenty of time to come up with."

"It's not a lie." Georgie protested, "It's the truth, you just have to let him explain."

"So you tell me the truth." Elizabeth told her friend.

"I can't." Georgie's chin quivered at the thought of telling Elizabeth her secret, "I just can't, please just talk to Will."

"I can't, I'm sorry." Elizabeth said quietly, "I've given your brother way too many chances and he always seems to hurt me."

Georgie left the Bennet's feeling deflating and hated that she had to tell Will the bad news. When she arrived home, she found Will in his room doing homework and she couldn't wait to tell him what she had found.

Will looked at her expectantly and sagged with defeat when Georgie shook her head. Georgie reached into her backpack and pulled out the picture, "But Will there is something that you have to see."

"What is it?" Will raised his eyes a little curious about the cause of his sister's excitement.

"Didn't you ever wonder why you had such strong feelings for Elizabeth from the very beginning?"

"Not really." Will said with a quizzical lift of his eyebrow, "Why do you ask?"

"Because this is Elizabeth as a girl." She produced the picture for him and Will gasped as he reached into his desk for the drawings her knew were there.

With trembling fingers, Will took the large pile of drawings that he had drawn from memory of a girl he had never thought to see again.

He compared the drawings to the picture and knew that Elizabeth was truly the girl of his dreams.

"Will," Georgie implored, "Tell me the story again."

"When I was six I went into the hospital for a routine tonsillectomy." Will's mind wandered back to that time twelve years ago. "After the surgery, they kept me overnight but I wouldn't stay in bed and kept wandering around the hospital." His eyes softened, "In one of the rooms I met a girl who had been there for a few days already for some sort of operation." He took a deep breath, "Her name was Beth and she was five. We became best friends immediately and I spent as much time in her room as the doctors would allow."

Georgie could hear the pain in her brother's voice as he reached the end of his story, "The next day, I was to be discharged and I begged to be allowed to go say goodbye to Beth." His eyes were lost in the depth of his memory, "When I got to her room she was gone and when I asked the nurse she said that the girl in that room had died during the night."

"You never forgot her though," Georgie supplied through her own tears, "You drew these pictures of her so that you would never forget."

"But how could it be her?" Will asked, "They said she died besides Beth told me she was five, a year younger than me while Elizabeth is the same age as I am."

"Will, Elizabeth is seventeen," Georgie supplied the answer, "Elizabeth told me a long time ago that she and Jane aren't twins as we thought. Elizabeth skipped a grade so that she and Jane are both seniors." Will still looked skeptical, "Think about it Beth… Elizabeth and maybe the nurse was just confused."

"Georgie, I need some time to think about this." Will said as he held Elizabeth's picture to his chest.

"Okay, I'll leave you alone."

Will made his way down to the music room and started automatically playing the song he had been writing for Elizabeth and began adding another verse.

_The dream of love takes flight  
__As reality in daylight  
__The fancy of youth has been caught up in time  
__And only one can answer as to reason or rhyme_

Georgie heard her brother playing and the new verse that he sang and it brought tears to her eyes as she realized that Will had indeed found his dream but she wondered if he would get his happy ending.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I wanted to make sure that I got a chapter out to answer the questions that I brought up in the last chapter. I hope you enjoy and next for this story we will be off to Homecoming which should be fun and interesting.**

**Thank You**

**Tina Marie**

When Georgie left Will singing in the music room she headed straight for Richard's room. She knocked on the door and after she heard an invitation to enter, she strode into the room, "Richard I need your help."

"Sure Georgie," Richard agreed with a smile, "What can I do for you?"

His cousin got swiftly to the point, "I need you to ask Elizabeth about something."

"I can do that but why don't you just ask her yourself?"

Georgie sighed and explained what she had found about Will and Elizabeth meeting at the hospital when they were kids.

"Elizabeth is so mad at Will right now that I don't think she will take the news very well when she finds out it was him but I can't wait to find out what happened." Georgie impatiently stomped her foot and kicked the bed post, "Will's in his own little world of self-doubt and misery and I'm not sure that he will ever ask her about it."

"Okay… Okay, I'll do it." Richard laughed, "There's no need to get hostile."

Georgie hugged him gratefully and as she ran from the room she called to him, "Thank you Richard, you're my favorite cousin."

* * *

Richard found Elizabeth before class the next morning, "If it isn't my favorite girl." Richard threw at her with a grin.

Elizabeth shook her head with a sigh, "You are such a compulsive flirt Fitzwilliam."

"I guess I was just born bad." Richard said with an exaggerated wink, "But seriously Elizabeth, I need to ask you about an incident that happened a long time ago."

Elizabeth looked at him with a strange expression but nodded her head, "When you were 5 were you in the hospital for a few days?"

She lifted her eyebrows archly and answered, "Yes… whey do you ask?"

"There was a young girl named Beth who met a young boy called Billy." Richard looked into her eyes and found his answer but asked the question anyway, "Does that sound familiar to you?"

"Yes, you know it does." Elizabeth looked at him quizzically.

"There's something I don't think you know about the story." Richard looked into her eyes, "When Billy got ready to leave the hospital he went to Beth's room and found the room empty. Billy asked the nurse where she was and was told him that the girl whose room he was in had passed away during the night. Now I ask you, how is that possible when you are obviously still alive?"

"That wasn't my room." Elizabeth's voice was quiet and reflective, "I had wandered the hospital until I found a girl named Bobbie." Her voice cracked with emotion, "Bobbie had been in the hospital for a while and none of the nurses seemed to mind me visiting her. It was Bobbie that had died that night." Elizabeth seemed to be miles away, "You know I always wondered what had happened to Billy."

Richard looked uncomfortable for a moment as he decided to tell her the truth, "He never forgot about you." The bell rang loudly and before he could tell Elizabeth who her mysterious Billy was she rushed off to class.

"I'll see you later." Elizabeth called over her shoulder.

Richard ran to class and made plans to find Georgie to tell her what Elizabeth had told him.

Will waited for Elizabeth at her first class until the bell rang and he had to run to class. He didn't want to get another detention for being late.

Between classes Georgie ran up to him out of breath and panting as she sputtered, "It wasn't Elizabeth's room at the hospital. It was another girl who died in the hospital that night."

As he watched his sister dash down the hallway, Will just stood there slightly stunned as he realized what she had told him. "It wasn't her room." Will let out the breath that he didn't know he was holding and walked toward class with a smile on his face. One mystery solved, now if he could just find out why Elizabeth seemed to trust Wickham so completely.

* * *

At lunch, Will finally found Elizabeth having lunch with Jane and Charlie and he made his way to the table as he took a seat next to her. "Elizabeth, I need speak to you privately."

"I don't want to talk to you, Will Darcy." Elizabeth said tersely.

He bent his head down to whisper to her, "I don't care whether you want to talk to me or not," Will insisted, "We need to talk."

"Fine," She hissed as he took her by the elbow and guided her away from the lunch table.

Will stopped when he found a secluded corridor and turned to Elizabeth, "I just need to confirm that we are going to the homecoming dance on Friday together like we planned."

Elizabeth laughed a cold harsh laugh, "If you think for one minute that I am going to Homecoming with you…"

"Lover's spat." A gleeful voice came from behind Will and as he turned he saw Billy Collins grinning at them like an idiot, "Elizabeth, I trust that you will allow me to escort you to the dance since you will not be going with Darcy."

Will and Elizabeth looked at the oily little creep with open-mouthed shock as Elizabeth stuttered, "Of course I'm going to the dance with Will, he's is my boyfriend."

A frown appeared on Billy Collins face, "But you just said that you would not go with him."

"Like you said," Will stepped in, "It was just a lover's quarrel and we're going to the dance together." He poked Elizabeth, "Isn't that right, darling."

Will bent down and brushed his lips against hers as he pulled her into his arms, "This is nothing more than a slight misunderstanding."

Collins face was crestfallen, "That's too bad because I was looking forward to introducing you to my mother." He shuffled away from the other two with his shoulders hunched over in defeat.

"Close call," Will grinned as he looked down at Elizabeth.

She put her hands on his chest and shoved away from him but Will caught her hand and moved it to his heart. Elizabeth tried to pull her hand away in disgust but Will said mockingly, "Now, now you wouldn't want Collins to come back and find us fighting otherwise he and he mother will be taking you to Homecoming instead of me."

"You are the biggest ass I know." Elizabeth growled at him as he raised her hand to his lips.

"Yes and you know you love it."

Elizabeth made a noise of disgust as she jerked her hand away from him and stalked back towards the lunch tables.

"Thank God for Billy Collins." Will said with a laugh.

"That's probably the first and last time that phrase will ever be uttered." Will smiled as he heard his sister's voice, "So what brought on this aberration so suddenly?"

"Billy Collins just insured that Elizabeth can't back out of going to Homecoming with me." Will said joyously as he picked Georgie up and twirled her in circle, "No matter how angry she gets with me right now."

"Will, you are taking a big risk that this won't cause Elizabeth to hate you forever."

"I'm willing to gamble my life on just one shot at winning Elizabeth's love." Will looked down at his sister and she felt the emotion wash over her at the sincerity in his words.

"That's the way to finish your song." Georgie said quietly as her brother looked at her with a stunned expression.

"You're right that's it," His eyes lingered on Georgie's face, "Do you think you could get me into the music room for the rest of lunch."

"No problem." Georgie said as he followed her down the hall.

Will sat down at the piano and began to play and write as he worked out the lyrics.

_I'll never get you out of my heart  
__My wish is that we'll never part  
__I'm willing to gamble my life  
__On that one roll of the dice_

_So if you love me, tell me so  
__If you need me, let me know  
__Since our love has passed the test  
__It's time to enjoy the rest._

Georgie sat in the corner just listening quietly as she loved to hear the music flow out of him again. She prayed after everything Will had lost and all the trouble she had caused him that he could get this one thing he wanted. It was the one thing that would be able to make him happy for the rest of his life.


	11. Chapter 11

**_A/N: Here it is at last. I've been working on this chapter for over a month and while I had gotten pieces of the chapter written, there were gaps between one part and the other which were necessary to the story. I finally worked out the problem I was having this morning. Thank goodness and this is what I've come up with. I think it's fun as well as emotionally charged. I hope you enjoy._**

**_Tina Marie_**

As Will lead Elizabeth into the auditorium, he looked down at Elizabeth and couldn't help the being proud that he was her date. She looked gorgeous in a royal blue silk dress with a fitted top and flared waist. She had worn her hair down and the dark silken curls bounced around her shoulders. The color of the dress suited her to perfection and Will tightened his arm around her waist in an unconsciously possessive manner.

Every eye in the place were on the couple as they entered the room and Will caught the transfer of money as wagers were won and lost.

The whole school had gone crazy with betting on every aspect of his relationship with Elizabeth.

He glanced down at Elizabeth who looked disgusted by the whole proceedings, "Doesn't anybody in our school have anything better to do than bet on the state of our affairs."

Will's eyes lit up at her choice of words, "I hadn't realized that we had started an 'affair'." He bent down and whispered in her ear, his voice low and seductive, "But I'm more than willing to take up a good cause."

"Darcy, that poor of a joke does even merit a response from me." Elizabeth's words belied her actions as a ghost of a smile flickered across her beautifully tempting mouth.

"In our relationship that would be a first," Will couldn't resist the wicked retort and grinned down at his date with a smile and a wink, "I would believe that I have never seen you at a loss for words."

Elizabeth's eyes narrowed and she tossed her hair back in defiance as she began to walk away.

Will caught up with her in a few steps and as he saw Charlie and Jane, he wrapped one arm around her waist and guided Elizabeth through the throngs of kids to greet his friend and her sister.

After they greeted the other couple and found seats at an unoccupied table, Will asked, "Ladies, would you like something to drink?"

"Yes, I would like a bottle of water." Elizabeth answered a little too politely for Will's taste as he yearned for the liveliness of her mind and the pert comebacks she always had in her ever-expanding verbal arsenal.

"I'd like water as well." Jane looked at Charlie.

"I'll help you, Will." Charlie jumped up to follow and as they walked toward the refreshment table, Charlie glanced back at Jane and gushed, "Jane is perfect, beautiful, kind and caring."

"Really," Will answered automatically.

"Yes," Charlie gushed, "In fact, I think she is the one. When we graduate I'm going to ask her to marry me."

Will realized with a start that he had been so wrapped up with his feelings for Elizabeth that he had forgotten about Charlie and Jane. He had been sure that Charlie would be on to his next girl before a few weeks had gone but the fact that his friend was talking about marriage disturbed Will. _You've been thinking of marriage to Elizabeth so who are you to make judgments. _A persistent voice inside him reminded him.

When Will brought Elizabeth her water, her manner was still annoyingly polite as she replied, "Thank you very much."

Will ground his teeth together at the coldness of her reply but forced himself to relax as he asked silkily, "Would you like to dance?"

"No thank you." Elizabeth's voice was icy as she turned her back on him to listen to Jane and Charlie.

Will would have been angry if he hadn't seen Billy Collins making a beeline toward Elizabeth from across the room and smiled in a mischievous manner.

"Elizabeth, I was hoping you would give me the honor of dancing with me." Billy picked up Elizabeth's hand and brought her fingers to his lips.

Will tried to stifle his laughter as he saw the disgusted look on Elizabeth's face but she smoothly refused, "I'm so sorry, Billy but I've already promised this dance to Will."

Will grinned with an evil smile, "But Elizabeth don't you remember, you just turned down my offer to dance."

Billy's eyes brightened with anticipation but Elizabeth refuted Will's statement as she glared at him, "Don't tease me Will, of course I agreed to dance with you, you're _my boyfriend_." Will was amused as he heard how she almost choked on the words as she said them.

Will's eyes sparkled with humor as he winked at Billy, "I guess you're out of luck as the lady has spoken."

Billy Collins' disappointment showed but he said formally, "I shall look forward to dancing with you later."

Elizabeth muttered under her breath, "I would rather be sold to the highest bidder at a white slave auction than dance with you, you mealy-mouthed midget with bad breath."

"I believe this is my dance." Will said as he took her hand and led Elizabeth onto the dance floor. With a sigh he pulled her into his arms. Will was still smiling as he glanced into her upturned face and saw the fire in her.

Elizabeth eyes flashed with unrepressed anger, "Will Darcy, how dare you throw me into Billy Collins grasp."

Will's face was overly innocent as he replied, "I don't know what you are talking about, you made it perfectly clear that you didn't want to dance with me and I was just respecting your wishes."

"You know very well the only reason I came with you was to avoid being alone with that toad." Elizabeth snapped furiously.

Will leaned over and whispered in her ear, "You should stop acting as though you are angry with me because Billy is watching with anticipation and is imagining that you will soon be storming from the dance floor."

Elizabeth followed Will's glance toward Billy Collins who was watching the two of them with undisguised hope altering his features.

"Damn." Elizabeth buried her face into Will's shoulder, "When is he going to take a hint."

"Where you are concerned," Will was trying to be supportive as he reveled in the feel of her pressed tightly against him, "I don't think Billy Collins will ever give up." Under his breath Will said quietly, "Not that I blame him."

"What?" Elizabeth asked.

"All the blame is on him," Will improvised, "because you've done everything you can to discourage him."

Elizabeth giggled, "Yes, I've done everything but kick him in the crystal balls to get my point across."

Will laughed and Elizabeth's face bloomed pink with embarrassment as Will whistled, "I'll have to remember to try and stay on your good side."

"That is not going to be easy for you." Elizabeth quipped as she gave in to her normal good-natured humor.

He breathed a sigh of relief and agreed, "You can say that again."

Elizabeth nestled her face against Will's shoulder and he repositioned his hands so that they rested on the top of her rear end as they moved in time to the music with their bodies pressed solidly against each other.

Elizabeth looked up at Will, "Is Billy still looking at us?"

Will glanced over her shoulder and said, "Yes, the little perv hasn't taken his eyes off us." He didn't really see Billy Collins but qualified to himself; _it was just a little white lie._

Will couldn't resist the smile on her lips and lowered his head to kiss Elizabeth. He captured her lips under his with a fiercely possessive kiss. He coaxed her lips open with his persuasively tender kiss and he sighed as they explored the depths of each other's mouths.

His hands dropped down to cup her bottom as he pulled her against him. Will moved against her sensually until the noise of the crowd finally penetrated his consciousness with their wolf-whistles and cat-calls.

Elizabeth stepped back and presented a mocking curtsy while Will followed suit with his own bow.

Will's hand enveloped Elizabeth's in his before she could make her escape and led her into the next dance with a fast paced a song. Together their moves seemed to be synchronized with each other as they enjoyed every moment of their time together.

At the end of the dance, Will couldn't resist as he wrapped her arm around her waist, "If I didn't know better I would say that we made for each other."

"Keep wishing, Darcy," Elizabeth shot back, "Maybe one day you will convince yourself."

"Oh I don't need to convince myself." Will countered with an eyebrow raise, "But maybe one day I can convince you."

"Dream on, Darcy." She laughed, "Maybe one day you'll be a real boy."

Will loved her teasing banter as he pulled her back onto the dance floor with him.

They danced until they were both out of breath and Will had been keeping her entertained with tails of his family. When they got back to the table both were overheated and laughing, "I can't believe you said that." Elizabeth sputtered after Will whispered in her ear, "I can't believe you said that," She shook her finger at him, "That was mean and cruel."

"It is no such thing," Will smiled, "I assure you that was a perfect imitation of my cousin Anne."

Caroline Bingley stopped by the table with a fake smile plastered to her overly painted lips as she turned to Elizabeth, "What a shame that Wickham couldn't be here tonight, I heard that he is a very good dancer."

Will could have killed her where she stood as he saw the anger settle back over Elizabeth features. He took Elizabeth's hand and rushed her away from Caroline before she could make any more acid little comments. The dance floor was crowded and warm but Will pulled Elizabeth to him for a slow dance.

He felt the rigidity of her body and tried in vain to bring about her good humor again. After a tense silence, Will finally said, "Elizabeth can't we put all of this behind us?"

"Darcy," Elizabeth pierced his heart as she threw daggers from her eyes, "You got George Wickham thrown out of school. How am I supposed to put that behind me?" He felt her eyes searching his face for answers; "Are you so jealous of George that you had to make up a story to get him kicked out?"

"Me, jealous of George Wickham," Will scoffed derisively, "That's a new one." Sarcasm dripped from his mouth in contempt, "He has been jealous of me all of his life and he spends all of his time thinking up ways to take what is mine."

"Is that what I am… _yours_." Elizabeth's anger was seething below the surface, "There is nothing that I want less than to be _yours_."

Desperate to stop the fight, Will thought quickly, "You don't want to make Billy think we're fighting do you."

"Damn," Elizabeth swore, "When is he ever going to back off and leave me alone?"

Will didn't really see Billy but he was sure the other boy was out there lurking.

"If he wants to keep watching us," Will suggested, "Then we should give him a really good show."

"What are you talking about…"

The rest of her sentence was cut off as Will captured her lips and lifted her off the ground. She wound her legs around his waist as he deepened the kiss with a hunger that left them gasping for more. Elizabeth arms wrapped tighter around him as she pressed herself into his body. His arousal became apparent as she moved against him with a passionate desire.

Will lifted his head and he dragged air into his lungs as he remembered there were a room full of people surrounding them, "My God, Elizabeth, let's get out of here there's way too many people here." His voice was husky, "Let's go somewhere private."

Elizabeth followed his gaze as he indicated the room, "Will, I thought you said Billy was watching us."

"I'm sure he's here somewhere." Will said but knew the lie wasn't very convincing.

Elizabeth's fury radiated from her in waves as she stalked back to the table and asked Jane, "Have you seen Billy Collins recently?"

"I don't know why you're asking about him," Jane replied, "But his mother picked him up about a half hour ago."

Elizabeth turned furiously on Will, "You lying son of a bitch, what do you have to say for yourself?"

When he didn't answer, she spun on her heels, "I'm leaving; I can't stand the sight of you anymore."

Will's voice was pained as he reached out a hand to stop her, "I just didn't want to fight with you anymore tonight, especially about Wickham."

"Well, I'm giving you your wish." Elizabeth raged, "You won't have to fight with me as I'm going to find a ride with someone else."

"Elizabeth, don't go." Will pleaded, "Let me take you home."

"I don't think so." Elizabeth disappeared in the crowd and as Will tried to catch up with her, Caroline was blocking his path.

"I'm so glad that I found you." Caroline's voice grated on his nerves, "I just found out something very important."

"Caroline," Will tried to moved past her, "I don't have time for this right now."

"Not even if I just overheard Jane Bennet in the bathroom talking to some of her friends and said that if Charlie didn't propose soon that she was going to have to trap him by getting pregnant."

"What." Will roared his annoyance, "We can't let that happen."

"I know." Caroline said slyly, "I have a plan."

"Do whatever you want." Will murmured quickly, "Right now I have to find Elizabeth."

"I just saw her get in a car with some other kids and leave."

"Damn." Will shoved his way the crowd as fast as he could.

* * *

Elizabeth rang the bell at the Fitzwilliam house; she needed desperately to talk to Georgie but it was Richard who answered the door.

"Elizabeth, I thought you were at the dance with Will." Richard face gave away his confusion at seeing her there.

"We had a fight and I left him at the dance." Elizabeth admitted sheepishly, "I needed someone to talk to and I'm hoping that Georgie is at home."

A flash of sympathy crossed Richard's face, "Our aunt insisted that Georgie visit her for the weekend so she's not here."

Elizabeth's shoulders slumped as she turned to leave, "Oh okay."

"Elizabeth if you need to someone to talk to, I'm here for you." Richard's eyes showed his compassion, "I know I'm not Georgie or a girl but I will do my best." His voice held humor but he indicated for her to come inside and she complied.

He led her to the living room where they sat on the sofa before Richard asked kindly, "So what is troubling you?"

"Will." Elizabeth answered slowly.

Richard laughed lightly, "That does not surprise me but what is it specifically that's troubling you?"

"I can't figure out how I can have such a strong physical reaction to him when I don't trust him or even like him much."

Richard tilted his head sideways as he rolled his eyes, "Well we can't exactly pick who we're attracted to. Life just doesn't work that way." As he watched Elizabeth chew on her bottom lip, he couldn't contain his curiosity anymore, "Can I ask what Will has done to cause this kind of animosity in you?"

"Well from what I have heard from people he is not a nice guy and that he takes every opportunity to take advantage of the less fortunate."

"Well have you ever thought that your source was telling you what you wanted to hear?" Richard said knowing exactly who Elizabeth was talking about.

"I trust my instincts about the people I have met."

"Elizabeth, just try to consider for a moment that you might be wrong." Richard scooted toward her, "Tell me what Will has done to you that was so wrong?"

"You know exactly what he did." Elizabeth fumed, "Without even giving me a chance he was judgmental and cruel when Charlie asked him to go on a blind date with me. How could he treat me so deplorably when he didn't even know me?"

"You've just answered your own question." Richard said, "He didn't know you so he wasn't rejecting you." Richard looked at Elizabeth with a smug expression, "You have to understand Darcy a little better to understand his reaction that day."

"I don't want to get to know Darcy better." Elizabeth insisted, "I already know that he is a proud, egotistical and arrogant. I don't need to know anything more than that."

Richard tilted his head and said in a calm voice, "You are blinded by your prejudice and have been influenced by other people to see what you want to see." He grinned as he tried to explain, "You have to understand how many blind dates Will has been on because scheming matchmaking-mama's have pushed their daughter's at him and the family. Our Aunt insisted that he accept all invitations from the wealthy and affluent families and he hated every moment of it." Richard leveled an appraising gaze at Elizabeth, "Is it any wonder that he didn't want to be set up on a blind date with anyone, even someone as devastatingly attractive as you." His eyes twinkled, "But you haven't told me what the latest offence is that can be laid at my cousin's feet?"

"He lied to me about Billy Collins, the big jerk." She eyes on blazing, "As always, he took total advantage of the situation and gave no consideration for anyone else's feelings." Elizabeth saw the look on Rick's face and got angrily to her feet, "I can't talk to you about this, damn I wish Georgie were here, she would know what to say." Angry tears flooded Elizabeth's eyes and she fought a losing battle to contain the deluge as the tears spilled down her cheeks.

Richard stood and in a comforting gesture pulled Elizabeth into a hug and patted her on the back. He wiped the tears from her eyes before an explosive expletive was uttered behind them.

"What the hell is going on here?" Will had never been as angry in his life when he saw his cousin holding Elizabeth, his Elizabeth in his arms.

"Will," Richard tried to explain as he released Elizabeth, "We were just talking."

Will's anger bubbled to the surface, "I wouldn't call what you were doing talking but I just don't want to hear any excuses, Richard," His eyes bore into Richard, "I want you to leave us alone so I can talk to my girlfriend."

Will slid an arm around Elizabeth in a fiercely possessive gesture and Elizabeth stiffened under his touch.

Richard held his arms up in defeat and retreated from the room.

As soon as Richard had left the room, Elizabeth extricated herself from Will's arm.

Her anger matched his as the two glared at each other, "How dare you come in here and order me around as if you have a right to, Will Darcy."

A possessive growl erupted from Will's lips as he leaned toward her, "You're mine and I will not allow you to see any other man."

"I don't belong to anyone and I'll see anybody I want." Elizabeth protested as her strong independence urged her to speak, "But I never want to see you again."

Will's fury overwhelmed him as the words he never wanted to hear came from her. He forcefully pulled her into his arms and leaned down as he claimed her lips. His lips were hard and demanding as he forced a response from her.

Will rejoiced when Elizabeth wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back more passionately than she had ever kissed him before.

"Elizabeth." Will breathed deeply, his voice raw with a desperate need.

When Will's hold on Elizabeth had relaxed, she pushed him back with all of her strength, "Goodbye, Will Darcy."

Will watched helplessly as Elizabeth stormed from the house and slammed the front door so hard that it rattled the walls.

When he regained his composure, Will raced after Elizabeth and found her walking along the road to her home. He quickly caught up with her and took her hand to lead her towards his car, "I'll drive you home."

"I'm not going anywhere with you." Elizabeth protested.

Will was firm, "I took you to the dance and you're parents will expect me to take you home."

Elizabeth's eyes shot fire but she finally relented, "Fine." But before she got in the car she said, "By the way, I just think you should know that Richard was just trying to convince me that you weren't such a bad guy." She smiled coldly, "But I guess the jokes on him because you came in and proved that I was right about you all of the time."

Will and Elizabeth were too angry to talk on the short drive to her home and as soon as he stopped she jumped out of the car and ran to the door without a backward glance.

As he watched her slam the door behind her, Will peeled out from the driveway with frustration. He drove for hours but that didn't stop the anger he felt.

* * *

Richard woke him up the next day by pounding on the door.

Will opened the door, his eyes weary and drawn, "Aunt Catherine is insisting the we spend Thanksgiving week with her."

"We still a few more days of school." Will countered.

"She has spoken to the school and we are going to be released for the week."

"Great just what I wanted," Will muttered sarcastically, "A week with Aunt Catherine."

"None of us enjoy it but we have to go otherwise we will find her on our doorstep demanding satisfaction." Richard's laugh was bitter.

"Richard I'm sorry about last night."

"I can understand," Richard said amiably, "you must have thought the worst when you saw us together."

"You don't even know half of it." Will looked sheepish as he told him what had happened the night before.

"Will, why don't you just tell Elizabeth the truth?" Richard asked with a shake of his head.

"I've promised Georgie that I wouldn't." Will sighed, "Besides at this point it's also the principle of the thing because what kind of relationship can I have with Elizabeth if she doesn't believe me or trust me." Will shrugged, "I guess there's no good answer."

"I have to tell you that I think you are going about this all wrong." Richard said, "But it's your life."

"Without Elizabeth what kind of life can I have?" Will said as his shoulders slumped in dispair.

Richard had to get Will's mind off Elizabeth and thought of a way to do just that, "Will, I have an idea," He mused, "Why don't we invite the Bingley's down to Aunt Catherine's for the holiday."

Will looked relieved, "That's a great idea and it will get Bingley away from Jane Bennet."

Richard looked quizzically at his cousin and so Will explained what Caroline had overheard the night before about Jane, "If we can just get him away from her influence for a while, I'm sure we can get him to see reason."

The arrangements were made quickly and soon everything was settled but Will couldn't shake the feeling of foreboding that crept insidiously through him and tried to shake off the feeling. _My being away for a week will give Elizabeth time to get over her anger and begin to miss me, I hope._


End file.
